Olympic swimmer Ben Proud has become the first British athlete to join the controversial Enhanced Games – but insists what he is doing is not undermining ‘clean’ sport.<\/b><\/p>\n
Proud, 30, is a world and European champion at 50m freestyle, and won silver at the 2024 Olympics<\/a> in Paris.<\/p>\n But he has now committed to an event which allows athletes to take banned performance-enhancing drugs. By taking part he will be banned from international competition.<\/p>\n He never won Olympic gold or broke the 50m freestyle world record, which has stood since 2009, but feels that the Enhanced Games “give me a new opportunity to continue this pursuit and see how far I can take things”.<\/p>\n Asked if he thinks the event undermines clean sport, Proud told BBC Sport: “No. I think it opens up the potential avenue to excel in a very different way.<\/p>\n “Speaking for myself, I think realistically I’ve achieved everything I can, and now the Enhanced [Games] is giving me a new opportunity. I definitely don’t think that’s undermining a clean sport.<\/p>\n “I really respect the sport I’ve been part of, and I would never step back in knowing I’ve done something which isn’t in the rules.”<\/p>\n Earlier this year, World Aquatics became the first international sport federation to ban athletes, coaches and officials from its events<\/a> if they have taken part in the Enhanced Games.<\/p>\n Proud has previously supported UK Anti-Doping’s Clean Sport Week while British team-mates Adam Peaty<\/a> and Duncan Scott have been outspoken against doping.<\/a><\/p>\n Proud said he sees ‘traditional sport’ and the Enhanced Games as “two very separate entities”, and that he found athletes breaking the rules “incredibly frustrating”.<\/p>\n “I see doping in clean sports as a complete no-go,” he said. “I don’t have any time for that.<\/p>\n “The fact it’s still happening is a problem. It’ll always be a cat and mouse game, there will always be people developing new techniques or people getting away with things.<\/p>\n “That’s one thing that has ruined sport for a lot of people. The anti-doping agencies just don’t have the ability to completely make sure everyone is clean and on a level playing field, and that to me has always been the biggest frustration.<\/p>\n “If you were part of my life for the past 12, 13 years, you’d see how much time you have to allocate to making sure we’re available to be tested on a daily basis, making sure we’re constantly giving our samples.”<\/p>\n BBC Sport has asked the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) for comment.<\/p>\n