The Enhanced Games fit right in with the rest of 2026’s longevity vibes

“增强运动会”与2026年的长寿风潮不谋而合

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Sunday, a group of 42 athletes will gather in Las Vegas to compete in a somewhat unusual sporting competition. Participants in the inaugural Enhanced Games are being encouraged to take performance-enhancing drugs. The goal is to “push the boundaries of human performance.” 执行摘要 本周日，42名运动员将齐聚拉斯维加斯，参加一场不同寻常的体育赛事。首届“增强运动会”（Enhanced Games）的参赛者被鼓励使用各类体能增强药物，其目标是“突破人类表现的极限”。

The games’ organizers have said that competitors will only be taking substances that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, and that they are all being medically monitored and supervised. But they have also said they expect to see world records broken—and are offering substantial prizes to athletes who succeed in doing so. 赛事组织者表示，参赛者仅会使用经美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）批准的物质，且全程接受医疗监测与监督。但他们同时也表示，期待看到世界纪录被打破，并为成功破纪录的运动员提供了丰厚的奖金。

As you might expect, the event is generating a mix of curiosity, excitement, and condemnation from various quarters. To me, it feels like very much a reflection of where we are today—an era of peptide-crazed looksmaxxing in which consumers are being encouraged to get thinner than ever, optimize for longevity, and have their “best baby.” It’s 2026, and if you’re not enhancing, what are you even doing? 不出所料，这项赛事在各界引发了好奇、兴奋与谴责交织的复杂反应。在我看来，这非常真实地反映了我们当下的时代——一个沉迷于多肽类药物、追求极致外貌的时代。在这个时代，消费者被鼓励变得比以往更瘦、优化长寿指标，并孕育出“最完美的宝宝”。现在是2026年，如果你还不进行“增强”，那你到底在干什么？

So, these games. They’ll feature competitions in four categories: swimming, track and field, weightlifting, and strongman (which also involves lifting weights). Many of the competitors already hold national and world records, and some are Olympic medalists. They’ve been paid a salary and will compete for prizes from a $25 million pot. The money has been a major draw for at least some of the athletes. 那么，关于这场运动会，它将包含四个类别的比赛：游泳、田径、举重和大力士赛（也涉及举重）。许多参赛者本身就保持着国家纪录或世界纪录，其中一些还是奥运奖牌得主。他们获得了薪水，并将争夺总额2500万美元的奖金池。对于部分运动员而言，金钱是一个巨大的诱惑。

Another draw is the opportunity to openly experiment with drugs that might boost their performance. In the world of elite sport, every microsecond and every millimeter counts. Athletes—most of whom arguably have genetics on their side already—follow meticulous diet, training, and recovery protocols and wear specially designed gear that allows them to reach for those performance bests. 另一个吸引力在于，他们有机会公开尝试那些可能提升表现的药物。在精英体育界，每一微秒和每一毫米都至关重要。运动员们——他们中的大多数人本身就拥有优越的基因——遵循严苛的饮食、训练和恢复方案，并穿着特制的装备，以求达到最佳竞技状态。

But within most sporting communities, there are limits. The World Anti-Doping Agency—an international outfit that fights the use of drugs in sports—maintains a lengthy list of “non-approved substances” that are banned in international sporting events. It features many anabolic steroids (which can build muscle), hormones (such as those that stimulate testosterone production or increase the ability of blood to carry oxygen), growth factors (which can stimulate muscle growth and repair, among other things), and more. 但在大多数体育界，是有底线的。世界反兴奋剂机构（WADA）——一个致力于打击体育界药物滥用的国际组织——维护着一份长长的“未获批准物质”清单，这些物质在国际体育赛事中是被禁止的。清单中包括许多合成代谢类固醇（可增加肌肉）、激素（如刺激睾酮分泌或增加血液携氧能力的激素）、生长因子（可刺激肌肉生长和修复等）等等。

Some of these substances have been FDA approved to treat health disorders. And that means they can be used by participants in the Enhanced Games, according to the organization’s rules. I’ll briefly point out the obvious here—just because a drug has been approved by the FDA doesn’t mean it’s totally safe for everyone and anyone. 其中一些物质已获得FDA批准用于治疗健康疾病。这意味着根据该组织的规则，它们可以被“增强运动会”的参赛者使用。我必须在此指出一个显而易见的事实：仅仅因为某种药物获得了FDA批准，并不意味着它对所有人都是绝对安全的。

The risks associated with use of anabolic steroids, for example, include high blood pressure, acne, depression, and liver tumors. Growth hormone use can cause weak muscles, affect vision, and even lead to diabetes. “Technological doping,” or using improved equipment to gain advantage, has also been supported by the games’ organizers. 例如，使用合成代谢类固醇的风险包括高血压、痤疮、抑郁症和肝肿瘤。使用生长激素则可能导致肌肉无力、视力受损，甚至引发糖尿病。此外，赛事组织者还支持“技术兴奋剂”，即使用改进后的装备来获取优势。

Last year, participating swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was reported to have broken a record in a 50-meter freestyle time trial while wearing a polyurethane “super” swimsuit. Such suits have been banned for use in the Olympics since a slew of record-breaking performances in 2008 and 2009. Back then, the swimming governing body ruled that they gave athletes an unfair advantage. But hey, this is the Enhanced Games, where the word “unfair” seems to have a completely different meaning. 去年，据报道，参赛游泳选手克里斯蒂安·戈洛梅耶夫（Kristian Gkolomeev）在穿着聚氨酯“超级”泳衣进行50米自由泳计时赛时打破了纪录。自2008年和2009年出现一系列破纪录表现后，此类泳衣已被奥运会禁用。当时，游泳管理机构裁定它们赋予了运动员不公平的优势。但嘿，这里是“增强运动会”，在这里，“不公平”这个词似乎有着完全不同的含义。

Can we expect more records to be broken on Sunday? Maybe. In addition to prize money for winning an event, any athlete who manages to beat a record stands to win up to $1 million, the sum also awarded to Gkolomeev last year following his time trial. But those performances won’t be recognized by official sporting bodies. 我们能期待周日有更多纪录被打破吗？也许吧。除了赢得比赛的奖金外，任何成功打破纪录的运动员都有机会获得高达100万美元的奖金，这也是戈洛梅耶夫去年计时赛后获得的金额。但这些成绩不会得到官方体育机构的认可。

Plenty of concerns have been raised about these games. Some argue that they are unsafe and promote risky drug use. Others see them as a “clown show,” and a slap in the face to “clean” athletes who train hard without the use of prohibited药物. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has said that anyone who takes part is “moronic,” and World Aquatics, which oversees international competitions in water sports, has banned Enhanced Games participants from its events and activities. 关于这场运动会，人们提出了许多担忧。一些人认为它不安全，且助长了危险的药物使用。另一些人则将其视为一场“闹剧”，是对那些不使用违禁药物、刻苦训练的“干净”运动员的羞辱。世界田联主席塞巴斯蒂安·科（Sebastian Coe）称任何参赛者都是“白痴”，而监管国际水上运动赛事的世界泳联（World Aquatics）已禁止“增强运动会”的参赛者参加其赛事和活动。

But. The games—and the participating athletes—will still get a huge amount of attention. As a result, so will performance-enhancing drugs. Enhanced, the company behind the games, also runs an online store. There, you can buy a $52 T-shirt emblazoned with the message “I am Enhanced.” 但是，这场运动会及其参赛运动员仍将获得巨大的关注。随之而来的，是对体能增强药物的关注。赛事背后的公司“Enhanced”还经营着一家在线商店。在那里，你可以花52美元买到一件印有“我是增强者”（I am Enhanced）字样的T恤。

There is also a range of prescription drugs on offer, including peptides “to support recovery, vitality, and longevity.” One of these is a growth hormone that the FDA approved in 1997 for the treatment of children with “growth failure.” The compounded version offered on the Enhanced website, which is not FDA approved, is marketed for longevity, supporting deep sleep and “overall wellness and vitality.” (“Marketed” is the key word here. The drug has, again, not been approved for that purpose.) 商店还提供一系列处方药，包括用于“支持恢复、活力和长寿”的多肽类药物。其中一种是FDA于1997年批准用于治疗儿童“生长障碍”的生长激素。Enhanced网站上提供的复方版本并未获得FDA批准，却被营销为有助于长寿、支持深度睡眠和“整体健康与活力”。（“营销”是这里的关键词。再次强调，该药物并未获批用于这些用途。）

It all fits very well with the zeitgeist. Sure, we don’t yet have any drugs that are designed to extend human lifespan. But the search for anti-aging drugs is getting more attention—and funding—than ever. People, particularly women, are seemingly not allowed to visibly age anymore—we have filters and facelifts for that now. The idea that “death is wrong” is gaining acceptance. And self-experimentation is rife. 这一切都非常符合当下的时代精神。当然，我们目前还没有任何旨在延长人类寿命的药物。但对抗衰老药物的探索正获得前所未有的关注和资金支持。人们，尤其是女性，似乎不再被允许显露出衰老的迹象——我们现在有滤镜和整容手术来掩盖这些。“死亡是错误的”这一观念正逐渐被接受，而自我实验也变得十分普遍。

“Biohacking” was shortlisted for Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year in 2025. Peptides are everywhere, despite all the unknowns surrounding their safety and effectiveness. So are longevity clinics, despite the fact that most of them are selling unproven treatments. US states like Montana are making it easier for people to get hold of unapproved “therapies.” Companies are even offering would-be parents the option to choose the potential future children expected to live longest. Yep—you can sup “生物黑客”（Biohacking）入围了2025年柯林斯词典的年度词汇。尽管多肽类药物的安全性和有效性存在诸多未知，但它们已无处不在。长寿诊所也是如此，尽管其中大多数都在兜售未经证实的疗法。像蒙大拿州这样的美国州份正在让人们更容易获得未经批准的“疗法”。甚至有公司为准父母提供选择，让他们挑选预期寿命最长的未来孩子。没错——你可以……