Technical billionaires like to paint themselves as opposite geniuses – Guys (almost always guys) who see institutions insist that things have to do one way because of stupid things as evidence and experience and respond, “I, a person who has zero knowledge or exposure to this matter knows better.” There is perhaps no strictest illustration of this mindset than the “improved games”, an Olympic competition with the support of Peter Thiel, who leaves prohibitions on improvement drugs and encourages competitors to inject themselves into whatever will make them the best version of themselves. According to a New Wired reportThings don’t go all as planned.
To be clear, the improved games seem to happen. They are scheduled for May 2026 in Las VegasA handful of athletes are on board, and is funding from the pleasure of the capital of Thiel and Donald Trump Jr. But behind the scenes it seems that things were a little unhappy.
For example, to promote the games, founder Aron d’ouza raised $ 1 million for some “improved” athlete (read: taking drugs banned from other official contests) to hit the swimming world records for the 100-meter Sprint or the 50-meter freestyle. Kristian Gkolomeev, a 31-year-old Olympics from Bulgaria, achieved that goal … but he was not the horse the improved movement initially supported.
Australian swimmer James Magnussen was supposed to be the poster boy for the games, relocating to California to suffer a doping regime, which had him ascended on testosterone and growth hormones to train his way to a world record. According to WiredMagnussen actually finished too much buffer, his muscle mass weighed him and hovered him so much that when they gave him his swimming pool of polyuretic “superstar”, which was banned by Olympic competition-he tore it. When he finally entered the water to put the improved access to the test, he posted time, which was 1.2 seconds slower than his own personal best since he swam clean.
Gkolomeev joined the “improved” challenge late, but benefited from a toned mode, which made Magnussen too big. He finally set a new world record, though he tried to replicate it weeks later, after more time on the doping program and his body experiencing more changes, he ended with a slower time. Wired asked both of the swimmer and his coach if he could hit the world record without drugs, and both concluded that he could probably have. Ah ok!
D’Souza – perhaps best known as the guy who led Thiel trial against gawker“Seeing to be a true believer in the whole” enhanced “(read: drugged) human movement, and he seems confused about why no one else gets it. Per wiredPart of the reason he launched his competition, it was because he had dinner with members of the International Olympic Committee and found them showing “unimpressed” intellect.
But it seems that the more the project goes, the more d’O souza and a company realize that there may be standards instead. He is already supported by drug-fed free to restrict participating athletes to using drugs legal in their home country and prescribed to them by a doctor, and they must suffer strict monitoring to ensure that their bodies respond well to doping.
Meanwhile, the real reason behind the “improved” movement seems to be simple: it is a scheme to sell supplements and sports drinks, A giant market with Extremely high edges. Wired reported that D’Souza announced improved performance products along with the upcoming improved games. Someone has to tell him that it would be cheaper just to start a podcast.
