{"id":398589,"date":"2026-01-08T00:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T00:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/398589\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T00:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T00:07:10","slug":"reece-prescods-decision-to-join-enhanced-games-condemned-by-athletics-chiefs-athletics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/398589\/","title":{"rendered":"Reece Prescod\u2019s decision to join Enhanced Games condemned by athletics chiefs | Athletics"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK Athletics<\/a> chief executive, Jack Buckner, has described Reece Prescod\u2019s decision to participate in the controversial Enhanced Games as \u201cappalling\u201d.<\/p>\n

The former Great Britain sprinter Prescod gave a statement to the Times<\/a> saying he is \u201cvery excited\u201d to be joining the sprinting field of the event. The Enhanced Games allows the use of performance-enhancing substances and permits athletes to take substances approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under strict supervision.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the former Olympic long-distance runner Buckner said: \u201cAs a former athlete, I find this particularly appalling. Those of us who have competed know what it takes to succeed the right way \u2013 through talent, dedication, and respect for the rules. To see a British athlete aligning themselves with an event that celebrates the use of performance-enhancing drugs is profoundly disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In September 2025, the Olympic silver swimming medallist Ben Proud announced that he would be participating<\/a> in the event, making him the first British athlete to join.<\/p>\n

Prescod won a silver medal at the 2018 European championships and competed at Tokyo 2020 before announcing his retirement in August last year.<\/p>\n

The statement from UK Athletics added: \u201cUK Athletics is disappointed by reports that former Great Britain sprinter Reece Prescod intends to take part in the so-called Enhanced Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cUKA does not recognise the Enhanced Games as a legitimate sporting competition. Any event that promotes or permits the use of harmful substances with the aim of pushing the human body to its limit for short-term goals is not sport as we value it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis concept fundamentally undermines the integrity of competition, places athletes\u2019 health and welfare at serious risk, and is incompatible with the principles of clean sport that underpin athletics in the UK and worldwide. The very reason clean sport exists is because those involved saw the risks that resulted from athletes taking substances that led to severe life changing harms.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years British athletes have experienced the devastating impact of doping, through losing the opportunities afforded from winning major medals, receiving recognition only years later, or by having medals removed, so it is disappointing to see a former team member demonstrate disregard in this manner.<\/p>\n

\u201cUKA\u2019s Clean Athletics Policy is clear: doping and the use of prohibited substances or methods will not be tolerated. While Reece Prescod is no longer part of the UKA performance system, his decision to associate with an event that directly contravenes both our policy and the World Anti-Doping Code is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK Athletics chief executive, Jack Buckner, has described Reece Prescod\u2019s decision to participate in the controversial Enhanced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-398589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}