A respected doctor at Sport Integrity Australia has expressed serious concerns about the performance-enhancing drugs taken by James Magnussen ahead of the Enhanced Games, saying the Australian Olympian risks infertility and heart problems if he continues to take testosterone.
Magnussen revealed the performance-enhancing drugs he’d taken ahead of next year’s Enhanced Games in Las Vegas in an interview with this masthead last week.
“We tried a few different things,” said Magnussen. “The base of it was testosterone and then peptides. We used BPC-157, CJC-1295, ipamorelin and thymosin.”
The act of athletes taking performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) – or, in Magnussen’s case, those returning after a six-year retirement – has never been discussed in such a public manner before.
“There was a point in my preparation where I was like, do we go for the 50m freestyle world record or Mr Olympia?” Magnussen joked at the Enhanced Games’ launch in Las Vegas on Wednesday (Thursday morning Australian time). “I learnt so much through that journey.”
Understandably, there have been significant concerns about Magnussen’s current and future health after his revelations. The 34-year-old – who burst onto the swimming scene more than a decade ago as a talented 100m freestyler and has never been far away from a headline since – admitted he has family members who aren’t completely at peace with the idea of him doping.
James Magnussen injects himself with a performance-enhancing drug as part of a bid to break the 50m freestyle world record. Credit: Enhanced Games.
Dr Naomi Speers, the director of research at Sport Integrity Australia, was asked about the risks of taking testosterone and for her professional view on the drugs Magnussen had listed.
Speers said some of the drugs were now not used Australia due to concerns over their safety.
“Some of the risks cannot be protected against by having a medical professional there,” Speers said.
“In a medical sense, people might use testosterone medication if their natural levels are not at the required levels,” Speers said. “In terms of doping, people use testosterone to increase their strength, so muscle and bone growth.
“Potential risks include infertility because using artificial testosterone can actually shut down your body’s natural production of testosterone. There’s also female characteristics that might occur, such as the growth of breasts and changing hair patterns, acne and skin reactions like you might see in puberty.”
What effects do testosterone and other peptides have on someone?
Magnussen said he took testosterone, to increase muscle mass, strength, bone density and red blood cell production.
“It can also cause mood changes, increased irritability or aggression,” Speers said. “There’s also risks around heart problems, heart attacks and strokes.”
James Magnussen is injected with a performance-enhancing substance. Credit: Enhanced Games
Meanwhile, BPC-157, a type of peptide, promotes tissue repair and gut health. It can also reduce inflammation.
“BPC-157 is an example of doping agents that have not been through clinical trials,” Speers said. “They’ve not been tested in the same way pharmaceutical medications have to check if it’s safe or to see if it has the desired effect. It is not known the health effects of that drug.”
CJC-1295 stimulates growth hormone and can help with fat loss.
“In a similar vain, it’s definitely not included in any medications in Australia,” Speers said. “It’s a black-market product and someone who is using those products actually doesn’t know what contaminants or other substances might be in the product they are buying. It has been through some initial clinical trials [in Australia] but was stopped due to negative effects on the trial subjects. A doctor can prescribe CJC-1295.”
“Ipamorelin is not used in medication in Australia, so we don’t have a solid base on the health effects of those substances. If people are accessing it they are probably accessing a non-pharmaceutical product. The same risks apply around. There’s a few different forms of thymosin, but they all fit in that class of peptides.”
Magnussen and his medical team are adamant that safe amounts have been administered.
James Magnussen in the Enhanced Games documentary. Credit: Enhanced Games
In his interview last week, Magnussen said he did not get sore once after training twice a day for the first seven weeks while on performance-enhancing drugs.
Ultimately, it was to his detriment. He gained too much weight and was fatigued by the time his world record attempt came in February.
“Nothing I am doing is illegal. I have prescriptions for everything I take,” Magnussen said.
“The biggest initial concerns for me, my family, my partner were the long-term effects on my health and my heart and some of my vital organs.
“As a former professional athlete, you always think you’re healthy but this is another level. I feel 18 again.
“I was waking up with an enthusiasm to train and compete. I felt so healthy and motivated. Honestly, it’s the happiest I’ve been in seven years.”
When did his doping regimen start?
Magnussen arrived in the US in October last year after undergoing comprehensive medical testing. He was on his doping regimen – what is referred to as his “protocol” – for about 20 weeks.
According to his swimming coach, Brett Hawke, Magnussen’s drugs were sourced independently, not through the Enhanced Games team.
“He formed a relationship with an Australian company and they basically sponsored him and supplied him with all his enhancements,” Hawke said. “It was all prescriptions.”
Australian Olympian James Magnussen. Credit: Enhanced Games
Who was working with Magnussen?
While it’s unclear which company was helping Magnussen, he had a large medical team around him, which did regular blood tests and body scans to monitor his progress.
Magnussen had doctors, endocrinologists and heart specialists at his disposal, as well as a dietician and a strength-and-conditioning coach.
The Enhanced Games requires all athletes to disclose what substances they are taking. If the drugs are illegal and the Enhanced Games’ medical team feels the substance is unsafe to take, the athlete will be banned from competing at the Games.
“[Magnussen’s] protocol was not administered by Enhanced,” read a statement. “Medical screenings [were performed] to ensure that James was healthy and safe to compete.”
What do the Enhanced Games say?
Dr Dan Turner, the Enhanced Games’ director of athlete safety and performance, is confident the drugs are being carefully given to athletes.
“Athlete safety is our top priority at the Enhanced Games,” he said. “It’s not the use of these substances that’s inherently dangerous. It’s the misuse of these substances.”
Enhanced Games co-founders Dr Aron D’Souza and Christian Angermayer.Credit: Enhanced Games
The Enhanced Games have also set up an ‘Independent Medical and Scientific Commission’, who will be conducting research on the athletes.
“It’s really novel … but they’re by no means guinea pigs,” said Professor Guido Pieles, who sits on the commission. “The medical profiling will be second to none. They will have monthly blood tests and initial tests for eligibility which will look at the heart and brain, their hormonal balances.
“We will follow up these athletes for five years with blood tests. Athletes will choose their primary care physician who will prescribe the enhancements.
“We are adamant that only enhancements are used that are legal.”
Speers, however, said the long-term effects will be unknown.
“Definitely the major concern for the peptide substances is their safety has not been well studied and definitely not in the long-term,” she said. “The other major risk is the type of product. Often these products will be made in someone’s kitchen or backyard or garage. The quality of those products is in no way assured like a pharmaceutical product that you buy at the chemist.”
What is the vision of the Enhanced Games?
Enhanced Games co-founder Aron D’Souza, an Australian lawyer and entrepreneur, has made no secret of wanting the event in Vegas next year as big as possible.
While questions swirl over the legitimacy of the controversial event, D’Souza says this is only the beginning.
“We’re ushering in the start of what I believe will be viewed as the next age of mankind,” he said. “[It is] an age of superhumanity and enhancement where three of humanity’s most important endeavours – science, medicine and sport – have now merged together. This is going to be a very critical juncture in human history.”
