Drug 'Expanded Games' aim to compete with Olympics launching in 2024

The Extended Games celebrate Olympic drug scammers like Tyson Gay, who was stripped of his relay silver medal in 2012 when it was found that he was using drugs. steroids Photo: Getty Images/Stu Forster

London 2012 Olympic gold medalist Anna Mears criticized the proposed new opponent for the No Doping Control Games as an unsafe «joke.»

Meares, who beat Victoria Pendleton in the women's cycling race in London, as well as a gold medal winner in Athens, reacted to the plans of London businessman Aron D'Suza to host the first «Extended Games» next year.

D'Suza says the traditional Olympic model is exploitative and believes events like the 100m sprint can be run in less than nine seconds without drug testing. The current official world record, set by Usain Bolt in 2009, is 9.58 seconds.

D'Suza argues that adult athletes should have the right to decide what to put into their bodies and that the current system drove the use of performance-enhancing drugs underground.

He hopes to host the first Extended Games next year. December in athletics, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics and martial arts and claims to have the support of several doctors, scientists and former Olympic athletes.

«Athletes are adults… and they have the right to do with their body what they want — my body, my choice; your body is your choice,» D'Souza told the Australian Associated Press.

“Nothing will improve the productivity of our society more than preventing aging. Now it sounds like science fiction, but we live in the future, look at the development of artificial intelligence and other technologies. We believe that science makes humanity and sport better and fairer.”

“This is not the right approach to sport.”

The idea was rejected by Meares, who is Australia's Olympic chief. “Honestly, this is a joke,” she said. «Unfair, unsafe — I just don't think it's the right way to approach the sport.»

D'Suza also drew attention to the financial reality that Olympic champions often make little money from their sport, while some bureaucrats make millions.

Rob Koehler, CEO of Global Athlete, agreed with that athletes have «virtually no rights» in the current Olympic system, but questioned whether athletes would prefer this alternative. Any athlete participating in the Extended Games also runs the risk of forfeiting their ability to return to regular competition.

«I'm not sure most athletes would support the doping Extended Games,» Köhler told Telegraph Sport. “But with that said, the anti-doping system needs to change and athletes need to be more involved in it. As we can see, in professional leagues anti-doping rules are agreed collectively. As part of the World Anti-Doping Program, athletes are forced to accept the rules, and this is contrary to all the principles of collective bargaining. In the current system, athletes have virtually no rights.”