Athletics-Olympic medallist Kerley joins Enhanced Games following provisional suspension

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NEW YORK (Reuters) -Olympic 100 metres silver and bronze medallist Fred Kerley will compete in the inaugural Enhanced Games, the competition said on Wednesday, weeks after the Athletics Integrity Unit slapped the American with a provisional suspension for whereabouts failures.

The 2022 100m world champion is the first track athlete and first American man to join the event that permits athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs that are banned in official competition.

“I’m looking forward to this new chapter and competing at the Enhanced Games,” said Kerley.

“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.”

Organisers say that the Enhanced Games can help transform sports science as it bucks global anti-doping norms, while critics have derided it as dangerous to athletes’ health.

Enhanced Games launched an anti-trust lawsuit against World Aquatics, USA Swimming and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for up to $800 million in August, alleging an illegal campaign to “crush” the competition.

WADA previously slammed the event as “dangerous and irresponsible.”

Kerley joins several elite swimmers who already signed on for the competition, including Olympic silver medallist swimmer Ben Proud, the first Briton to sign on.

“Fred’s choice to compete with us not only demonstrates our goal of hosting the most exciting athletic competitions out there, but also solidifies the growing appeal of the Enhanced Games as the future of elite sporting competition,” said Enhanced Games CEO Maximilian Martin.

The inaugural Enhanced Games is set for Las Vegas in May 2026.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Pritha Sarkar)