Olympic swimmer Hunter Armstrong said he plans to swim in the Enhanced Games, while also pursuing his goal of making the Olympics again in 2028.
Armstrong, 25, told ESPN he plans to compete in the Enhanced Games for the prize money, but not take any banned substances.
There is a $250,000 prize for taking first place in an event at the Enhanced Games and also bonuses for beating a world record.
Armstrong said if he didn’t compete in the Enhanced Games he would consider retiring since he said he lost his main sponsorship.
“If I don’t join Enhanced, I lose everything. If I do join Enhanced, I have a chance at not losing everything,” Armstrong told ESPN. “My back was against the wall, so I had to reopen that conversation to see if it was a plausible option.”
Armstrong said he spoke to officials at World Aquatics before signing with Enhanced Games, but he did not receive a definitive answer on how the federation would rule on his eligibility, ESPN reported.
“Nobody really knows what’s going to happen, and nobody will give me an answer on what’s going to happen,” Hunter Armstrong said. “So all I can work off of is what the rules say and take a chance because I won’t get an answer by waiting.”
The original release from World Aquatics made it sound like anyone who would “support, endorse or participate in” the Enhanced Games would be banned from World Aquatics events.
“Those who enable doped sport are not welcome at World Aquatics or our events,” World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam said in the release.
But according to the report, Armstrong said after discussing with lawyers that he believes a ban would only apply if he stopped following the World Aquatics rules, including drug-testing protocol.
World Aquatics spokesperson Torin Koos told ESPN that the federation will decide how to apply the new bylaw on a case-by-case basis.