Guyanese Olympian Jasmine Abrams joins controversial Enhanced Games

Mar 13, 2026 Sports

Jasmine Abrams celebrating her silver medal performance at the Pan Am Games in the Women’s 100m.

By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur Sports – The decision by Guyana’s fastest woman, Jasmine Abrams, to compete in the controversial Enhanced Games has added to the debate within the global athletics community, as the inaugural event prepares to stage its first competition in May in Las Vegas.

Abrams, a Pan American Games 100 metres silver medallist and Olympian, is among the athletes confirmed for the privately funded multi-sport event, which has drawn widespread criticism because it allows competitors to use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) under medical supervision.

Jasmine Abrams preparing to compete at the 2024 AAG’s Senior Championship at the National Track & Field Centre.

The sprinter, who was named Guyana’s National Sportswoman of the Year 2023, holds the national record in the women’s 100 metres with a time of 11.07 seconds.

She represented Guyana at the 2020 Summer Olympics alongside her sister, Aliyah Abrams, the national record-holder in the women’s 400 metres. Abrams is also a bronze medallist in the 100 metres at the South American Games.

The concept behind the Enhanced Games was developed by Australian entrepreneur Aron D’Souza, who has promoted the competition as a new model for sport; one that removes traditional anti-doping restrictions in an effort to explore the outer limits of human performance.

Organisers say the event will feature a compact programme including track and field, swimming and weightlifting, while offering unprecedented financial incentives. Among the most notable rewards is a US$1 million bonus for athletes who break world records in selected events.

Abrams, so far, will be the only Guyanese sprinter involved in the event, which also features former Olympic silver medallist Fred Kerley, who has emerged as one of the event’s headline signings.

The American star has publicly expressed ambitions of challenging the men’s 100m world record, which was legally set by Jamaican Usain Bolt, as part of the competition’s bold and controversial premise.

Also joining the line-up are Barbadian sprinter Tristan Evelyn, a two-time Olympian and national record-holder in the 100 metres for Barbados, and former British international Reece Prescod, who has also committed to competing in the sprint events.

Despite the star power, the concept has been met with strong resistance from the global sporting establishment.

Both the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and World Athletics have publicly condemned the initiative, warning that the event undermines decades of work aimed at maintaining clean and fair competition in sport.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has been particularly outspoken, reportedly describing the concept as a “dangerous clown show” and cautioning athletes against participating in an event built around the sanctioned use of performance-enhancing substances.

Under the current anti-doping framework, athletes who compete in events that openly permit PED use risk severe consequences for their careers within the traditional sporting system.

World Athletics regulations and the global anti-doping code prohibit the use of banned substances, meaning participation in such an event could complicate an athlete’s eligibility to compete in sanctioned competitions, including the Olympic Games and major international championships.

For Abrams, the decision could carry significant implications for her future in international athletics, as one of the country’s most recognisable track athletes, her ability to represent the nation in World Athletics-governed events could come under scrutiny depending on how anti-doping authorities respond to her participation in the Enhanced Games.

So far, the Athletics Association of Guyana has not issued an official statement regarding Abrams’ involvement.

The governing body’s position may ultimately prove critical, given that national federations operate within the framework set by World Athletics and global anti-doping regulations.

As the countdown to the inaugural staging of the Enhanced Games continues, Abrams’ participation places Guyana at the centre of one of the most contentious debates in international sport, one that challenges long-standing principles of fairness, athlete safety, and the very definition of clean competition.

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controversial, Enhanced Games, Guyanese Olympian, Jasmine Abrams

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