Fraser stated in July 2023 that over five hundred athletes had contacted him asking for more information. Magnussen said that other Australian swimmers had contacted him, expressing interest, The event has been dubbed the "steroid Olympics" by multiple media outlets., president of
World Athletics, said: "No one within athletics takes the Enhanced Games seriously."
Organizations The IOC stated, "If you want to destroy any concept of fair play and fair competition in sport, this would be a good way to do it. ... This is completely at odds with the idea and values of the Olympic Games." WADA stated that it "warns athletes and support personnel, who wish to participate in clean sport, that if they were to take part in the Enhanced Games, they would risk committing anti-doping rule violations under the
World Anti-Doping Code."
World Aquatics stated, "The Enhanced Games are not a sporting competition built on universal values like honesty, fairness and equity: they are a circus, built on shortcuts". In June 2025, it announced that people involved in events like TEG would be banned from World Aquatics events. The
International Federation of Sports Medicine expressed worry that TEG would exploit young people. The
Australian Olympic Committee called the idea "dangerous and irresponsible." The CEO of
Sports Medicine Australia said that no member of the organization had expressed support for TEG in their capacity as healthcare professionals. The
UK Anti-Doping organisation said in a statement that "UKAD's mission is to protect sport from doping cheats. There is no place in sport for performance enhancing drugs, nor the Enhanced Games."
Travis Tygart, CEO of the
United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), said: "farcical … likely illegal in many [US] states" and "a dangerous clown show, not real sport." The
China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) stated that it is in "firm opposition to any attempt to portray doping as so-called scientific advancements, and calls on the global sports community to stand united in rejecting the Enhanced Games." TEG filed a lawsuit in the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan against several sporting bodies in August 2025, including World Aquatics and WADA. The allegation is that these organizations are violating
anti-trust laws by preventing athletes from competing in TEG. United States District Judge
Jesse Furman dismissed the lawsuit in a 33-page order in November 2025. The organization chose not refile the lawsuit within the 30-day deadline, and the court closed the case.
Sportspeople Cyclist and Olympic gold medalist
Anna Meares said "Unfair, unsafe — I just don't think this is the right way to go about sport." Badminton player
Susan Egelstaff stated, "It cannot, and will not work. The danger is massive." Swimmer and Olympic gold medalist
Leisel Jones stated that while she would not participate herself due to the risks, she'd be interested in how fast people could get with doping, saying: "If this clears out people who ... are doing illegal things in sport, if that clears them out our clean sport, that would be wonderful." Swimmer and Olympic gold medalist
Libby Trickett said it was understandable TEG would attract fascination and interest, and that "I really, really, really hope that it's done under medical supervision because that's the only way I can kind of justify in my head something like this to go ahead." Olympic swimmer
Mark Foster expressed similar views, noting also that money has attraction. Former
Australian Football player
Adam Cooney stated, "I would say that 90–95 per cent of the population would put their hand up and do [what James Magnussen did], they're not going to get anywhere near a world record obviously, but it is pretty enticing." Swimmer
Kyle Chalmers, who declined joining TEG since he wants to compete in the 2028 Olympics, voiced support for retired swimmers like Magnussen if they wanted to join TEG. He said "I think that swimmers have been underpaid for a very long time at the big competitions."
Science and academia Andy Miah, professor of science communication and future media at the
University of Salford, called TEG a "provocation", saying that "... the significant risk of athletes excessively enhancing and risking significant health complications is unaddressed by their materials. There is no mention of medical oversight in the competition on the website, from what I can see." Fraser said that "Each athlete must be under clinical supervision." Academic John William Devine said, "In a sporting world in which inequality of opportunity is already rampant, the removal of the doping ban would only deepen an existing moral failing." According to
John Hoberman, author of several books on sports and doping, D'Souza's idea that drugs would lead to better performance is "very simplistic", and D'Souza is "very shallow on the scientific end". Science philosopher Byron Hyde said that the large financial incentives offered by TEG risk coercing struggling athletes into particpating, undermining their autonomy. However, he also observed that many other sports exhibit the same coercive structure, including boxing and MMA.
Media The Spectator opined that "In any discipline, we seek only to discover who is the fastest, or the strongest, the most accurate or the most coordinated. What's absolutely crucial, at least as far as retaining spectator interest goes, is that the advantage is natural."
The Daily Telegraphs sports writer commented that "Remarkably it seems a more fleshed-out idea than the
European Super League".
Cyclist wondered who would be willing to sponsor the event, noting that as of late July 2023, no sponsors were mentioned on TEG's website.
The Independent said that while the sporting world has been mostly dismissive, "D’Souza is intelligent and well-connected, and he has brought down big targets before. So when he says it’s going to happen, he is deadly serious."
Outsports criticized D’Souza's use of
LGBTQ language like "
coming out" to describe athletes openly using performance-enhancing drugs. D’Souza is an out gay man.
Financial Times said the same month "A year on, with just one athlete publicly signed on to the project and no concrete plans for either a venue or a date, the project looks increasingly like a weird thought experiment, despite its high-profile backers. For D'Souza, the
second Trump presidency could be what the Enhanced Games needs to get off the ground."
Time listed D'Souza and Angermayer among the "Most Influential People in Health of 2025".
The Economist said that the Games align with a growing human enhancement industry, aiming to improve strength, intelligence, and longevity. == See also ==