Enhanced Games lifts prize for breaking Bolt’s 100m record to $10 million

Enhanced Games says it will now pay $10 million to any competitor who goes faster than Usain Bolt’s men’s 100m world record at its 2027 meet, sharply increasing the incentive for the event’s second staging.

The update was disclosed by Enhanced CEO Maximilian Martin in a letter to shareholders after the first Games in Las Vegas. Organisers said 13 competitors recorded 21 personal bests while taking part under medically monitored enhancement programmes.

Bolt’s 9.58-second run from 2009 still stands as the target attached to the cash award. The prize previously offered for beating that time was $1 million.

Martin said the debut Games had brought in more than $32 million through sponsorship deals. Organisers also said viewership and engagement across television, streaming platforms and social media performed better than projected.

One of the major results came from swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev, who collected $1.5 million after posting a 20.81-second world record in the 50m freestyle. Organisers described it as the biggest one-time payment ever made in swimming.

Enhanced Games, which backs medically supervised performance enhancement in sport, said athletes cleared health checks and finished the competition without safety issues. Work has started on the 2027 edition, while organisers are also considering smaller meets and endurance sport contests.