While Fred Kerley was a USATF athlete, he was one of the best they had. He burst onto the Olympic scene at Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021), claiming silver in the 100m with a time of 9.84s, his first Olympic medal. He followed that up in Paris 2024, taking bronze in a nail-biting finish just 0.01 seconds behind silver, clocking 9.81s.

At the World Championships, Kerley has shone brightly: in Eugene 2022, he won gold in the 100 meters (9.86s), leading an all-American podium, and in Budapest 2023, he helped the U.S. 4×100 meters relay team to another gold. But then his tough 2025 season sees another twist as he joins the Enhanced Games.

What are the Enhanced Games, and how do they work?

“We’re reinventing sports with science. At Enhanced, we are pioneering a new era in athletic competition that embraces scientific advancements to push the boundaries of human performance,” reads the website of this event. Aron D’Souza, the company’s founder and president, framed the announcement as the opening salvo in an effort to create “superhumanity.” Simply said, the Enhanced Games aim to create a platform where athletes can compete using PEDs legally, challenging the norms of traditional sports. In any form of traditional sport, if you’re found guilty of doping, you would be banned, but not in these games.

In the Enhanced Games, athletes are allowed to use substances that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and prescribed by licensed medical professionals. Examples of such substances include testosterone, growth hormones, and certain anabolic steroids. However, illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin are explicitly prohibited. So, since Fred Kerley has joined them, he will be allowed to use PEDs. But why did he enter in the first place?

Why did Fred Kerley decide to join the enhanced games?

Money has been a big problem in track and field, and that is where the Enhanced Games take the win. Any athlete who wins an event in these games will be awarded a generous sum of $250,000 in prize money. For comparison, if you win a gold medal in the ongoing 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships, you would be awarded $70,000. In addition, if Fred Kerley breaks any of the existing world records in these games, he will receive a $1 million check as a bonus. Breaking the world record at the World Athletics Championships gets you $100,000. So money is a big motivator. Besides, Kerley has been having a tough time this season.

He kicked things off with a win at the USC Trojan Invitational, clocking 10.23 seconds—a solid effort, but only the 38th fastest time in the world at that point. In subsequent races, he ran 10.07 seconds in Rabat and 10.06 seconds in Rome, respectable marks, but still well off his personal best of 9.76 seconds set back in 2022. Things got tougher at the Kingston Slam, where he placed 7th in the 100 meters (10.30s) and 3rd in the 200 meters (20.39s). On top of that, in August, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) issued a provisional suspension for Kerley due to three missed doping tests within 12 months, a violation of anti-doping rules.

What is USA Track and Field’s policy on doping and athlete eligibility?

Section 8.1 of the USOPC anti-doping policy reads, “Athlete Support Personnel found to be Using Prohibited Substances or Prohibited Methods without valid justification will be prohibited by NGBs and the USOPC from providing support to Athletes for a specified period of time, nor receive or be eligible for any USOPC or NGB benefits and services. This includes any employment, contract, or volunteer service at the USOPC or NGB.” USATF is very strict on doping, so even if Kerley takes PEDs for an event where the medication is sanctioned, it results in a ban. The same fate awaits any U.S. track and field athlete who joins the Enhanced Games.

Kerley is already under a ban from AIU. However, a notice has been made public from Howard Jacobs’ office, the lawyer of the 2022 world champion. “Kerley has already notified the AIU that he intends to contest the allegation that he has violated the anti-doping rules related to whereabouts failures, as he strongly believes that one of (sic) more of his alleged missed tests should be set aside either because he was not negligent or because the Doping Control Officer did not do what was reasonable under the circumstances to locate him at his designated location,” it read.

It also said that Kerley will refrain from commenting further on this issue out of respect for the process. He also looks forward to presenting his case to the appointed hearing panel. A ban due to whereabouts failure can often be contested and lifted, like Gabby Thomas did after being banned in 2020. But as of now, Fred Kerley remains banned.

How could joining the Enhanced Games affect Kerley’s Track and Field career?

The World Athletics president, ­Sebastian Coe, has been a fierce critic of the games. He said, “It’s bollocks, isn’t it?. I can’t really get excited about it. There’s only one message, and that is if anybody is moronic enough to officially take part in it, and they are in the traditional part of our sport, they’ll get banned for a long time. But I really don’t get sleepless nights about it.” The WA president has made it clear to track and field athletes: take part in the Enhanced Games, and don’t expect to take part in a World Athletics event. Another World Championship feels impossible for Kerley, and so does the Diamond League, which operates under the governance of World Athletics.

While the Enhanced Games calls itself the Olympics of the future, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) athletes’ commissions called the Enhanced Games “a betrayal of everything that we stand for“. So the Olympics are also out of the picture for the Olympic gold medalist. Additionally, sponsors haven’t taken too kindly either, as the Enhanced Games don’t currently have an official sponsor.

As of September 2025, Fred Kerley doesn’t have an official shoe sponsor. He split with ASICS in mid-2024 after a high-profile moment at the USATF New York City Grand Prix, where he was spotted warming up in Puma spikes and then pulled out of the race. After that, he had a short-term deal with Nike for the rest of 2024, though in 2025, we did not see any signs of the deal going forward. They did not sponsor him before he joined the Enhanced Games, and now that he is, it feels highly unlikely that he will get another.

Can Fred Kerley still return to traditional athletics?

Kerley is a great talent; his Olympic medals are testament to that. But from USADA to World Athletics, the stance is the same for the athletes who take part in the Enhanced Games. Ban them. Because it isn’t required for the participating athletes to take the PEDs, there is a chance that Kerley could return if he tests negative. Or he may be banned for a few years before he can compete once more. Either way, participants of the Enhanced Games have continued to invite controversy.