1 hour ago
5
Team USA Olympic sprinter Fred Kerley has signed up for the Enhanced Games, a controversial competition scheduled for next year that encourages (supervised) PED use among athletes.
Kerley, who won a bronze in the 100m in Paris and a silver in Tokyo, was provisionally suspended in August by the Athletics Integrity Unit for missing three drug tests within a 12-month period.
The 30-year-old is facing a two-year ban for the 'whereabouts failures', which Kerley previously announced he will appeal.
Nonetheless, it was announced on Wednesday that he is joining Enhanced, which is partly backed by 1789 Capital - the investment fund of Omeed Malik, Chris Buskirk, and Donald Trump Jr.
The competition is offering a $1million prize for broken world records, and each event has a total purse of $500,000, with $250,000 for each winner.
'I'm looking forward to this new chapter and competing at the Enhanced Games,' Kerley told the event's website.
Fred Kerley, 30, is joining the controversial Enhanced Games amid his provisional suspension
The competition has been backed by 1789 Capital - the investment fund of Donald Trump Jr.
'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.'
Trump Jr. previously said: 'The Enhanced Games represent the future – real competition, real freedom, and real records being smashed. This is about excellence, innovation, and American dominance on the world stage - something the MAGA movement is all about.
'The Enhanced Games are going to be huge, and I couldn't be prouder to support this movement that is changing sports forever.'
Following his suspension in August, Kerley posted a message from his lawyers to his X account.
'Fred Kerley has already notified the AIU that he intends to contest the allegation that he has violated the anti-doping rules related to whereabouts failures, as he strongly believes that one of more of his alleged missed tests should be set aside either because he was not negligent or because the Doping Control Officer did not do what was reasonable under the circumstances to locate him at his designated location,' the statement said.
Kerley was suspended for three missed doping tests within a period of a year
Kerley pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge in July
The sprinter was accused of punching hurdler Alaysha Johnson, who is also an Olympian
'Fred will not comment further at this time out of respect for the process, and looks forward to presenting his case to the appointed hearing panel.'
Kerley's commitment to the competition comes after he was arrested in May for allegedly punching another Olympian, Alaysha Johnson, who also competed in the Games as a hurdler.
And that came just a few months after he was arrested for allegedly punching a Miami Beach police officer on Jan. 2, an incident in which police used a taser on him.
Kerley's lawyers say he is innocent of those charges.
Kerley, the first American male to sign up for the controversial competition, joins swimmers Megan Romano, Kristian Gkolomeev, James Magnussen, Andrii Govorov and Josif Miladinov.
The competition has been referred to as 'reckless' by the Athlete Commission of UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), and Enhanced actually filed an $800 million antitrust lawsuit against its detractors in August.
Enhanced has claimed there is an illegal campaign to make athletes boycott its event and named World Aquatics, USA Swimming and the World Anti-Doping Agency as defendants. They are seeking damages and injunctive relief to stop what they say is the defendants' illegal campaign.
Nonetheless, the Games are set to take place on May 24 in Las Vegas.
