Former world champion swimmer James Magnussen is set to compete in the upcoming 2026 Enhanced Games in Las Vegas. The two-time 100m freestyle world champion has served as one of the poster athletes for the inaugural – yet highly controversial – event, which openly allows its athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDS) to compete. James Magnussen is entering the pool again in pursuit of a world record and a hefty $1 million bonus prizeGettyWith a whopping $25 million prize pool on offer, and a staggering $1 million bonus to any athlete that achieves a world record in their respective event, the Enhanced Games has attracted some elite competitors. To widespread criticism of many those athletes will take to the arena at Resorts World on the Vegas strip in Sin City on Sunday afternoon.Athletes also receive baseline salaries and appearance fees to compete. “I’ll juice to the gills and I’ll break it [the world record] in six months,” Magnussen infamously vowed back in 2024. Now the 35-year-old is vying for glory and the effects are clear to see.View Tweet: https://t.co/MXrFqGOVbb“I thought it was an interesting concept from the first time I heard it,” Magnussen, who retired in 2019, told Sydney’s SEN radio. “We’re pretty aware as Olympians, particularly in Australia, that performance enhancements are going on in other countries, but it’s not a level playing field internationally.“I want to go to America, I want to get the right advice and take the right supplements. I’d like to document it through video form. Show how it can be done safely, properly, and create an athlete we haven’t seen before.”Donning the nickname ‘The Missile’, the silver medalist at the 2012 London Olympic Games has spent the last 18 months training as he seeks to ‘claim’ world records in both the 50m and 100m freestyle.In doing so, he is hoping to surpass fellow countryman Cam McEvoy whose 50m world record stands at 20.88 seconds – although it has been made clean any times will not be officially recognised.Former Team GB athlete and 2024 Paris Olympics silver medalist Ben Proud also committed to participating in the Enhanced Games back in September of last year, much to the dismay of Aquatics GB. Magnussen is pushing the limits using PEDSGettyLas Vegas native Cody Miller is also jumping back into the pool to competeGettyBut Magnussen believes that over time, more and more people will become accepting of the event, despite huge condemnation from the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).“History will prove me right,” Magnussen told the Sydney Morning Herald. “I’m very confident in that. People will look back and go, ‘oh, it was ahead of the curve’. I’ve pushed in all my chips.”Michael Phelps’ former Olympic teammate joins Enhanced GamesSome 42 athletes will be participating in the Enhanced Games, with the event focused on a core suite of individual sports including track & field, and weightlifting events, alongside swimming. Joining Magnussen in the pool is American breaststroke specialist Cody Miller, who was part of the record-setting 4×100 medley relay team at the 2016 Rio Games which included GOAT Michael Phelps. “As far as the performance-enhancing thing, I know a lot of people who are already ‘enhanced’ that are on a lot of the substances that were made public a few days ago,” the 34-year-old said on Friday night when explaining his particpation in the Games. “You’ve got guys on things like testosterone and hormone-replacement stuff, so that’s not anything that was foreign to me, although I’ve obviously never done any of those things before. “So I get that that’s just like where the world is going from a longevity standpoint. There’s a lot of crossover. Miller (second left) was part of the historic 4×100 medley team for Team USA that featured Michael Phelps (second right)Getty“The idea of marketing a lot of these things off of like the world’s elite healthy humans makes sense to me opposed to what you see when you turn on the TV and you watch someone break a world record and win a gold medal and then they cut to an ad of Coca-Cola or McDonalds. “That always rubbed me the wrong way. But we’re here to swim fast, make money and do something cool, and that’s kind of why I am here.”While 90 percent of the athletes, including Magnussen and Miller, will be competing on PEDS, some will not, such as US sprinter Kerley, who medalled in the 100m in both the Tokyo and Paris Games.“It’s all about the money, baby,” Kerley said. “All about the Benjamins.”The main event takes place on May 24. Stay up to date across all our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.