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Fred Kerley shocked the track and field world on Wednesday.
A former 100-meter world champion, the United States star has chosen to lean into doping in a sport that doesn't approve of it at all. Kerley has been announced as a participant in the Enhanced Games.
The news was released on social media Wednesday afternoon, and track fans were flabbergasted.
This makes me sick 🙄 Chasing the 100m WR in Vegas next May for a $1m prize... Will put goodness knows what into his body - I can't imagine the disappointment of his fans, rivals & (former!) sponsors - absolutely ridiculous 😡 https://t.co/Gq2jmK1bWb
— Nicola Sutton (@nicsutton85) September 17, 2025What are the Enhanced Games?
The Enhanced Games are a new competition being formed that will have its inaugural event in Las Vegas in May 2026.
The idea is that athletes will be allowed to put substances into their body with the intent of getting bigger, stronger and faster.
Instead of the drug testing that requires Olympic and World Championship athletes to compete cleanly, the Enhanced Game doesn't care. It wants everything in the interest of pushing the boundaries of human performance to the absolute limit.
So far, the Enhanced Games have announced swimming and track components.
They're offering $1 million for breaking the world record in the 100-meter sprint and the 50-meter freestyle swim, and each individual event will carry a total prize purse of $500,000, with $250,000 going to first place.
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Why is Fred Kerley doing the Enhanced Games?
Kerley shared in a release that he's always wanted to chase the 100-meter world record, which is 9.58 seconds.
"I'm looking forward to this new chapter and competing at the Enhanced Games," Kerley said. "The World Record has always been the ultimate goal of my career. This now gives me the opportunity to dedicate all my energy to pushing my limits and becoming the fastest human to ever live."
Kerley is the first track athlete announced as a participant, as well as the first American male athlete announced in the field.
"We are thrilled to see such an elite track athlete like Fred join the Enhanced Games, and pursue breaking a world record that hasn’t been touched in 16 years," Enhanced Games CEO Maximilian Martin said in a release. "Fred's choice to compete with us not only demonstrates our goal of hosting the most exciting athletic competitions out there, but also solidifies the growing appeal of the Enhanced Games as the future of elite sporting competition."
Kerley is also currently facing a provisional suspension for "whereabouts failures" under the sport's anti-doping rules, the Athletics Integrity Unit announced in August.
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