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Two-time gold medalist Hunter Armstrong finished last Olympic announce that they will take part in the Enhanced Games later this year, without the aid of performance-enhancing drugs.
Armstrong, the two-time Olympian and 25-year-old Ohio native, said ESPN that he intends to take part in the Olympic Games in May without using banned substances. He explained that his decision was ultimately a financial matter.
Hunter Armstrong swims in the 100-meter freestyle during the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 18, 2024. (Robert Goddin/USA TODAY Sports)
“If I don’t join Enhanced, I lose everything. If I join Enhanced, I have a chance of not losing everything,” Armstrong said, explaining that he decided to compete so he could continue swimming. “My back was against the wall, so I had to reopen the conversation to see if it was a plausible option.”
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Armstrong told the outlet that after suddenly losing a major sponsor last year, he had to find a new way to keep swimming. The Enhanced Games are scheduled to take place in Vegasoffering rewards of up to $1 million.
But World Aquatics, the sport’s governing body, issued a change to its bylaws last year that would ban any athlete from the sport if they competed the extended games.
“Those who enable doped sports are not welcome at World Aquatics or our events,” its president Husain al-Musallam said in a statement following the decision in June. The new rule states that anyone “sponsors, supports, or participates in sporting events that utilize scientific advances or other practices that may involve prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods.”
Caeleb Dressel of Team United States, Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano and Hunter Armstrong before the men’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay final on the first day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France, on July 27, 2024. (Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
However, Armstrong told ESPN that after consulting with lawyers, he believed he would still be eligible to compete if he continued drug testing and followed the governing body’s rules and regulations. However, he did not receive a final answer before deciding to compete.
“Nobody really knows what’s going to happen and nobody’s going to give me an answer as to what’s going to happen,” he said. “So all I can do is follow the rules and take the risk because I won’t get an answer by waiting.”
Hunter Armstrong of Team United States prepares to compete in the men’s 50 meter backstroke final on day eight of the FINA World Championships Budapest 2022 at Duna Arena in Budapest, Hungary, June 25, 2022. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
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A spokesperson for World Aquatics told ESPN that the organization will decide on the new rule on a case-by-case basis.
Several Olympians, including James Magnussen, Ben Proud, Cody Miller and Fred Kerley, will compete in the Enhanced Games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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