Hunter Armstrong On Racing Clear At Enhanced Games, Getting Paid, And What Comes Subsequent

Olympic gold medalist Hunter Armstrong left the inaugural Enhanced Games with $375,000 in prize cash after two podium finishes.

Competing clear, non-enhanced athlete, Armstrong gained the boys’s 50 backstroke in 24.21 racing in a polyurethane “super suit.” That swim earned him $250,000, although it was about half a second off his American file of 23.71. He returned within the 100 freestyle, ending 2nd in 48.0 behind Kristian Gkolomeev, who gained in 46.6. Armstrong’s lifetime greatest is 47.59. He added one other $125,000, bringing his whole Enhanced Games payday to $375,000.

In this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast, Armstrong joins us for a full debrief on the occasion, the cash, the testing, and whether or not he plans to proceed with the Enhanced Games.

PODCAST TOPICS COVERED:

The finish of the podcast is likely to be essentially the most attention-grabbing matter. Armstrong studies that eight USA Swimming National Teamers (World Champions and Olympic gold medalists amongst them) requested methods to enter the subsequent Enhanced Games.

Armstrong says he believed the 50 again world file was inside attain, however that he held again as a result of he didn’t have sufficient expertise racing in an excellent go well with. Specifically, he feared a DQ by kicking previous the 15-meter mark underwater.

Armstrong says his 48.0 within the 100 free could have been the higher swim.

He additionally reveals that since saying in March 2026 that he would compete on the Enhanced Games, he has been drug examined 11 occasions. For context, Armstrong says his earlier most-tested yr was six checks, and that got here within the yr he broke a world file. He was additionally examined on the Enhanced Games occasion itself.

Armstrong takes listeners behind the scenes of the athlete expertise in Las Vegas, describing what he says was a vastly totally different surroundings from the normal World Aquatics expertise. He particulars the “white-glove” therapy athletes obtained, from meals and journey to occasion administration and total help.

Competing clear, did Armstrong get pleasure from beating enhanced athletes? His reply is nuanced, but it surely is sensible.

Armstrong additionally discusses whether or not he plans to proceed with the Enhanced Games, and if that’s the case, why.

Given the variety of checks he says he has undergone since saying his participation, Armstrong weighs in on whether or not he believes World Aquatics will permit him to race on the 2027 World Championships in Budapest and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The dialog additionally covers how a lot monetary help Armstrong is receiving past his $375,000 in prize cash, together with wage, bills, and coaching help.

Armstrong feedback on IOC president Kirsty Coventry’s now extensively mentioned assertion that she doesn’t consider Olympic athletes needs to be paid. The remark drew criticism from elite athletes who proceed to coach and compete with out significant monetary safety.

Armstrong additionally reacts to the Enhanced Games’ said plans to pay athletes extra sooner or later. Enhanced Games CEO Maximilian Martin just lately introduced a $10 million prize for any athlete who breaks Usain Bolt’s 100m world file on the 2027 Enhanced Games.

In Armstrong’s earlier SwimSwam Podcast look, he mentioned he would by no means race enhanced, even after retiring from Olympic sport. We ask him the query once more now that he has gone via the coaching and occasion expertise. This time, his reply is extra nuanced. Listen and decide for your self.

Armstrong additionally responds to SwimSwam’s protection of the Enhanced Games, together with Editor-in-Chief Braden Keith’s evaluation that the debut occasion was “mostly an infomercial parading as a sporting spectacle,” and that it didn’t resolve the troubled economics of Olympic sports activities or provide a lot for the normal sports activities world to repeat.

The podcast runs simply over an hour. If we missed any questions, drop them within the feedback. Armstrong will come again with an insider viewpoint.

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Many due to Swimoutlet.com for his or her 14 yr partnership and help of this swimming information and media.

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This is a Gold Medal Media manufacturing offered by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News web site.

Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed visitors don’t essentially replicate the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam promoting companions.