Essayist Paul Klotz: With the Enhanced Games, ‘we are witnessing the return of the circus’

Las Vegas: The Enhanced Games’ main media officer is clutching an orange tape measure as he ushers roughly 200 journalists from 25 countries around a futuristic $70 million venue built in just four weeks at the base of Resorts World Las Vegas, complete with a swimming pool, running track and weightlifting arena, unlike anything previously seen in sport.

The announcer is practicing at a new open air arena hosting one of the most controversial events in recent sporting history: the Enhanced Games.

Resorts World in Las Vegas plays host to 42 athletes who will compete in three different disciplines: swimming (freestyle and butterfly), sprinting (100m and hurdles) and weightlifting (snatch and clean & jerk).

Juiced-up athletes gathered in Las Vegas on Sunday for the first-ever Enhanced Games, where organizers predict world records will be unofficially "beaten" by competitors using performance-enhancing drugs that have sparked health concerns.