A new sporting event’s controversial pitch: Performance-enhancing drugs welcome

Competing while using banned substances is one of elite sports’ most fiercely protected red lines.

Competing while using banned substances is one of elite sports’ most fiercely protected red lines. But this weekend, in the shadow of a Las Vegas casino, comes a one-day competition that has sparked controversy for unapologetically crossing it.

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Denounced by anti-doping agencies and global sports federations but championed by a small cadre of swimmers, sprinters, weightlifters and financial backers, the Enhanced Games will open Sunday following months of headlines. Rather than ban the use of performance-enhancing drugs, organizers of the Enhanced Games have built an entire event, and company, around their use and appeal.

Forty-two athletes will compete. The competitors — who include past Olympic medalists, including swimmers Cody Miller of the U.S., Shane Ryan and Ben Proud and sprinter Fred Kerley — were not required to use drugs to join the Enhanced Games, but they could elect to do so as part of a 12-week trial supervised by the games in Abu Dhabi, where many athletes also trained.