Why the Enhanced Games offer of $US10 million to break Usain Bolt's 100m world record in 2027 is unlikely to succeed

With Gout Gout already benefiting from a reported 8-year endorsement contract with Adidas with a base salary over $US4 million plus performance-based bonuses, it is unlikely that any young rising star would risk losing national and international acclaim in a world where mainstream corporate brands avoid any association with illegal PED use in line with public attitudes.

To conclude, I will be surprised if many top 100m sprinters compete at the 2027 Enhanced Games even with $US10 million being on offer for the winning athlete if one can break Bolt's world record of 9.58.

Certainly, those in mainstream athletics already cheating have little to gain from participating at the Enhanced Games, unless they are ageing with slower times, looking for an easy big pay day, and have little regard for their reputation being ruined by an association with sport that promotes illegal PEDs.

It is only the clean 100m runners that run around 9.90 or faster that have any chance of beating Bolt's record with PEDs, but I believe that most will stay aligned to mainstream sport within the ultimate hope that World Athletics continues to encourage fairer competition.

While some top sprinters will be tempted to use illegal PEDs if they think they can beat existing drug-testing protocols, albeit some are playing Russian roulette given that three male global 100m medalists have been caught since 2019, most accept that mainstream athletics is the only way to go with the vast majority of athletics participants, fans and corporations continuing to support the goal of drug free sport no matter how difficult is to achieve a truly level playing field.