James Magnussen's ominous warning as staggering transformation comes to light
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Australian swimming star James Magnussen has sent a warning to the rest of the world: get on board or be at risk of missing out.
Magnussen has caused quite the stir in the swimming community with his decision to join the Enhanced Games, telling The Guardian that he 'feels 18 again' after taking testosterone, peptides and banned drugs, including BPC-157, CJC-1295 and the growth hormone ipamorelin.
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His hopes of winning $US1 million may have already gone up in flames, with Greek Olympian Kristian Gkolomeev beating the world record held by Cesar Cielo on his way to the top prize, but Magnussen is still glad to have made the move to the drug-fuelled Games.
You can watch Kristian Gkolomeev beating the world record in the player above.
In fact, he warned in an interview with AAP that he will be just the first of many Australian athletes to join the event, which openly encourages athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs in a bid to win prize money.
The event is not just isolated to swimming and will also include athletes across multiple sports such as track and field and weightlifting.
Swimming will hold 100m and 50m freestyle events, along with 100m and 50m butterfly.
Athletics events include the 100m and 100m and 110m hurdles. Weightlifters will compete in the snatch and clean & jerk disciplines.
James Magnussen has shown off his insane transformation. Image: Enhanced Games
James Magnussen at the Rio Olympics. Image: Adam Head
'The most common response I hear from current athletes is, if this all goes ahead the way we believe it will in the first year, then we're very interested to join,' Magnussen told AAP.
'Because the opportunity to set yourself up for life just isn't there at the moment in that swimming world. But it's very clear that opportunity is available with the Enhanced Games.'
Magnussen is one of the faces of the Games along with Gkolomeev. Both men were followed by cameras in a documentary titled '50 Meters to History: The First Superhuman', which followed the pair in their bid to break the fastest record in swimming.
Magnussen has his fair share of critics, with Olympic great Ariarne Titmus declaring his name is 'a bit mud' while Cam McEvoy, who won gold for Australia in the 50m freestyle at the Pairs Olympics, voiced his concerns in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald.
'It doesn't count in any way, shape or form when you take drugs or wear one of the banned suits, or both,' McEvoy told the Herald.
James Magnussen is targeting breaking the 50m world record.
'It's got no relevance to Olympic or World Championship 50-metre comps, or to the international rankings around them.'
Magnussen though told the publication that if he was McEvoy, he would see the opportunity to race in the Enhanced Games as a 'no-brainer'.
'If I was Cam, and I was going to be able to put a suit on and race for $US1 million – plus be paid as an athlete – for me, it would be a no-brainer,' Magnussen said.
'At this point for Cam, he sees it like a sideshow. If you stayed in the testing pool the whole time [by continually agreeing to take drug tests], then it shouldn't be an issue. It seems like a free hit.'
However, McEvoy's concerns with the event went far beyond its legitimacy, with the 31-year-old also questioning the 'unknown potential cost' it will have on Magnussen's long-term health.
'I understand there are some measures being put in place around the safety of those athletes throughout this process,' he said.
'But there are long-term negative health effects associated with maximised PEDs and further still, a lot of unknowns around just how serious those effects are.'
It is a point that Dr Naomi Speers, the director of research at Sport Integrity Australia, made in an interview with the Herald after Magnussen openly revealed the PEDs he had taken ahead of the Enhanced Games, which is set to debut in Las Vegas next May.
'We tried a few different things,' Magnussen told The Herald.
'The base of it was testosterone and then peptides. We used BPC-157, CJC-1295, ipamorelin and thymosin.'
In the Enhanced Games documentary, his fiancée Rose's father Justin McEvoy said his 'main concern' was Magnussen's health.
'He definitely confirmed with me he was getting totally medically checked out,' McEvoy added.
'That turned me around. The fact he's healthy.'
Magnussen went on to explain that he's getting blood tests and body scans once a month, while he also has his own dietician, strength and conditioning coach, doctor, endocrinologist and heart specialist.
'We've covered every base,' he added.
Originally published as James Magnussen's ominous warning to sporting world as staggering transformation revealed
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