The British sprinter’s decision to join the Enhanced Games has been rightly condemned, writes Catherine Merry, but it also raises big questions, and there’s a way it could serve an important purpose.
It’s only February and already 2026 has been a tumultuous year. On the one hand, the early stages of the indoor season have provided plenty to be excited about, while records have also fallen on the roads.
Unfortunately though, the biggest headline grabber has of course been in the UK Reece Prescod’s sad and insane decision to sign up for the Advanced Games. I was in two minds whether to write about this topic or not because I feel bad about giving this event any form of publicity. However, I think this case raises some important points and questions, so please bear with me.
A quick reminder if you’ve managed to erase Advanced Games from your mind as to what they are. It’s a competition held in Las Vegas in May where athletes are allowed to take performance-enhancing drugs that are banned in mainstream sports. Competitors are also paid handsomely to participate.
I’m not surprised that there’s been such a significant reaction to Rees’ decision, but with something like this, I also think it’s important to step back and take it all into account.
When athletes make announcements or decisions, whether it’s the decision to retire, move to another event, or change allegiance to another country, the first question I ask myself is:
In the case of Rhys, it is quite natural that the first reaction would be: “I wouldn’t do that. It’s crazy.” That was my first reaction too, but I also like to try things from a place of understanding.
He spoke at length about how difficult it was to financially support his career as a top sprinter, which was one of the reasons why he decided to call it quits last year, aged just 29. I know he was still involved with the sport through coaching, but some athletes find the transition to retirement difficult, so I can understand if you’re struggling with a tough athlete or an athlete-like opportunity. it will be tempting because it gives you the opportunity to continue living that life.
I understand that side of it and it shows how tough athletics is that the fourth fastest Briton in history over 100m with a PB of 9.93 finds it so difficult to make a living from the sport. But he’s not the first to run into that problem, and there have been many others who haven’t resorted to this kind of response as a way to deal with the problem. In my opinion, this is not the right way. There are other options to stay in the sport that are much better than this one.
He told AW last year that he wanted to “inspire more kids and continue to do athletics,” but this whole sorry business could be damaging to him in many ways. He says he’s been clean throughout his career, and there’s certainly no evidence to the contrary, so why would he jump into an event of this nature?
He also says he has no plans to take any drugs in the Extended Games. competitors are allowed to choose whether or not to do this, but I also find that confusing in itself. As a concept, the clue is in the title, so if you’re going to have competitors that haven’t improved, what’s the point? Many people look at it and say. It just makes it confusing and, to me, it’s a huge flaw in an already hugely flawed program.
Ironically, though, those rules and caveats actually give Rhys a bit of a lifeline to get out of this whole sorry affair with a modicum of credibility if he plays it right. If the whole thing was completely improvised, there was no way he could come back from it. But if he continues his “I don’t do drugs” policy and then gets kicked in the back by people who were taking them, he can say,
He can easily turn on it, do a case study, start what could be an important discussion about the more uncomfortable aspects of our sport, and then serve a purpose. The problem is that he didn’t get it right to begin with. On the other hand, if he goes out and runs a 9.8, then he’s dead because no one will believe he did it cleanly.
From the looks of it, the money was hanging in front of someone, it was just too hard to resist. Is his biggest motivation wanting to continue the lifestyle, the routine, and being an athlete? Probably not. The biggest motivation is probably paying his bills and making money. You can’t fault someone for that, but doing it this way is just plain wrong.
Anyway, enough said about all that, so let’s end on a more positive note. I was already excited for this year and the opening weeks of the indoor season did nothing to dampen my expectations. We’ve seen Dina Usher-Smith get off to a good start with her new training regime, the men’s 800m indoor world record was broken, Jaroslava Mahuchych is jumping well again and we’ll see Keely Hodgkinson back on the indoor track at the British Championships this month. Oh and Femke Ball also made an exciting debut in the 800m.
The extended games may cast a dark shadow, but there are still plenty of bright spots on the horizon.
