LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — Juiced-up athletes gathered in Las Vegas on Sunday for the first-ever Enhanced Games, where organisers predict world records will be unofficially “beaten” by competitors using performance-enhancing drugs that have sparked health concerns.

Around 40 sprinters, swimmers and weightlifters have spent the past four months in Abu Dhabi taking combinations of testosterone, human growth hormone, peptides and anabolic steroids — all banned by events like the Olympics.

The event, starting at 3:35 pm (2235 GMT) and streaming on YouTube and Roku, has been denounced by athletics governing bodies and anti-doping agencies as dangerous and against the spirit of sport.