Ryan Lochte Exclusive: Olympics Committee changes, Enhanced Games, Phelps’ physiology and more
Posted on: June 8, 2026, 08:50h.
Last updated on: June 8, 2026, 08:53h.
- Ryan Lochte says Enhanced Games prize money could attract more Olympians
- The 12-time Olympic medallist calls on the Olympic Committee to raise athlete payouts
- Lochte shares opinion on how Enhanced athletes should be considered for world records
The inaugural Enhanced Games made its debut in Vegas at the end of May, causing a wave in the swimming community. To get an insider’s perspective, Casino.org’s JJ Lee sat down with 12-time Olympic medallist, Ryan Lochte, to get the full scoop.
Lochte filled us in on all things Enhanced Games, high payouts, record-breaking, and more.
Initial reactions to the Enhanced Games
“[My first reaction] was ‘I wish I was still swimming.’
“It’s not just about taking enhancements. To be honest, it’s about the money, the prize money.
“They’re giving money that is life-changing for these athletes. When I was swimming, I was lucky enough to be paid by multiple sponsors and everything like that. But my swimming federation, getting a gold medal at the Olympics, you get 50 grand for a gold medal at the Olympics. You’re number one in the entire world and you only get 50 grand? Like, come on, you can’t support a family like that.
“Cody Miller, a good friend of mine, I swam with him at the Olympics. He made $500,000 in two races [at the Enhanced Games]. That is life-changing for him and his family. And I know why he did it, because he wanted to help his family out. My hat goes off to him.
“There’s that other swimmer, that backstroker [Hunter Armstrong]. He didn’t take any enhancements, but he was able to compete. When he won, he got $250K. What? You’re getting quadruple the amount that you would get if you weren’t doping and winning a gold medal at the Olympics. This is just winning a race.
“If you break a world record, it’s a million. Like, come on, they’re doing life-changing things.
“They’re finally getting to the point where all these top people, they’re making so much money, like the CEOs and all that, but then the actual athletes that show up, are getting nothing. So now it’s the other way around. The swimmers, the people that are actually competing, are getting the most amount of money. That’s how it should be.”
High payouts pushing athletes towards enhancement more than competitive ambition
“I think the best scenario is to do both. But the money, there’s going to be so many more people [participating] because like I said, this money is not normal money. “Us Olympians know, like I said, a gold medal is 50 grand. Then if you win an Enhanced Games race, that’s $250K. It is completely different.
“I could see more and more swimmers, athletes moving over to the Enhanced Games because it’s life-changing financial stability. It’s going to be life-changing.”
On US Olympics Committee pressure to raise medal prices
“If they start losing athletes that go to the Enhanced Games because of the money, I think they have no choice but to raise the prize money at the Olympics.
“They’re gonna have to compete against the Enhanced Games. I know for a fact they have the money. The CEOs, the head people, they make so much money, but then their athletes, they’re giving them chump change. It should be the other way around.
“The Enhanced Games are doing that. They’re giving the money to the athletes because you wouldn’t have the Enhanced Games without the athletes.
“We’re the stars and you need that. So if they don’t change, they’re going to start losing athletes to the Enhanced Games for sure.”
Fan assumptions around PEDs creating “superhuman athletes”
“Yes, I think so, but it’s all under jurisdiction of like a doctor, so it’s all safe.
“What it does, it can make you train longer, train harder, and build muscles. There’s so many things that enhancements can do to help you. And luckily they’re doing it through safe protocols.
“I think after these Games, after the money that was distributed, the talk of it, like it took over my Instagram. Everything I looked at, it was like Enhanced Games. We’re going to see a change in every sport now.”
Only one Enhanced Games World Record
“I thought there would be more records broken, to be honest. Not just because of the enhancements, but with the super suits, you’re allowed to wear the full body tech suits.
“I remember when I swam, we had the full body tech suits. I think it was in 2009 World Championships. There was every race was a world record. It was unheard of, and that’s why they banned those suits. Now they’re bringing back the suits, and it’s so good for the sport.
“I feel like it’s drawing more people to their sport. Like, for swimming instance, it’s drawing a whole new demographic, a whole new crowd. It’s changing the game. It’s making it bigger than what it was. And that’s what I love.
“Me and Michael Phelps, we always talked about this. We wanted to change the sport. We wanted to make swimming bigger than what it is. And they’re doing it. Yes, they’re taking enhancements, but they’re also allowing people that aren’t taking enhancements to be a part of this movement, this whole show.
“It’s intriguing. They [the audience] want to know what’s going on. The prize money is substantial, so like that’s already going to get a lot more people.
“Honestly, they’re going to have to start having more events, more sports. It’s just, it’s going to get bigger, bigger, and bigger. I mean, just for swimming purposes itself, there’s a whole new crowd now, and it’s going to make swimming at the Olympics way bigger.”
On critics saying its a ‘dangerous message to young athletes’
“I think it’s a little bit of both. Yes, I think the kids, younger kids, are going to be like, well, he broke a world record, or he got all this body taking enhancements, maybe I can too. But that’s one part.
“The other part is it’s all done through doctors, medical staff to keeping their athletes safe. So it’s both. I go 50/50 there.”
The conversation of natural genetics, physiology and Michael Phelps
“Michael Phelps, he was a specimen. He had the perfect swimmer’s body. Tall, long arms, long torso, short legs. That’s perfect body for swimming.
“Me, I wasn’t tall. I was one of the smallest guys on the team, so I didn’t have the genetic body type for a perfect swimmers’ body. I had to work my ass off to get to the top.
“Yes, both my parents were swim coaches, so I did have some genetics of being in the pool. But as far as like my body type, I had no special ability or anything like that. I wasn’t gifted like that. My special ability was I could outwork everyone.
Serious sports movement or mostly entertainment?
“Leading up to it, I thought it was for entertainment purposes.
“But now after seeing everything and sitting back and kind of digesting everything that happened, I think it’s going to be a movement. I think it’s going to change sports.“
Prestige debate: Lochte weighs in on “enhanced” world records
“If an enhancement person breaks a world record – hey, we have records because they’re meant to be broken. “No matter if you’re taking supplements or not, they’re meant to be broken. That’s why we have records.
“I swam enhancement-free. I went against people that were doping, and I came up on top. So I think a world record, if it gets broken, it’s all in the same category. It doesn’t matter. That’s my opinion.
“Now on that note, you do have to abide by WADA and USADA guidelines. But there were some [enhanced] athletes that didn’t win and I beat them. But I mean a world record gets broken no matter what.”
Sports splitting into “natural” and “enhanced” leagues
“I think it might. I don’t know because seeing the Enhanced Games, they allowed non-enhancement athletes to compete with enhancement athletes.
“So they allowed that, which I thought was amazing. If you want to take enhancements, take enhancements. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to, but you just compete.
“I think it’s pretty awesome when you compete against someone that’s enhancing, because if you do beat them, that’s pretty badass.”
Elite performance: chemistry vs. genetics, training, and mentality
“Having a genetic physique like Michael Phelps is an advantage to everyone, but that could only take you so far.
“You have to do the work no matter what. Especially in this world, if you want to break a world record, you can’t just take enhancements, put on a super suit and be like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna break one!’ No, you can’t. “You have to do the work and you have to push your body to new limits that no one else is willing to go.”
The fine line between legal recovery science and banned enhancement
“I think that’s just going through WADA and USADA, with abiding by their guidelines of what’s good to take and what’s not good to take, what you can take legally and when you can take illegally.
“I think by abiding by those guidelines, you have a set rule, but I just think that it’s going to start changing now that these Enhanced Games were so popular. I think we’re looking at a new era in sports.”
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