James Magnussen’s Quest for a Millionaire Title Falls Short
James Magnussen’s ambitious attempt to become an instant millionaire at the Enhanced Games has not gone as planned. The Australian swimmer, known for his prowess in the 50m freestyle, faced a tough challenge from Greek freestyle champion Kristian Gkolomeev, who unofficially broke the world record in the one-lap dash.
In the final race of the controversial event, Magnussen lined up with hopes of breaking the 50m freestyle world record set by Australia’s Cameron McEvoy in March. However, it became clear early on that Magnussen would be well off the pace, while Gkolomeev was in a strong position to claim the $1.4 million AUD prize.
Gkolomeev managed to shave 0.07 of a second off McEvoy’s record, officially breaking the global best time for the event and earning himself the lucrative pay cheque on Monday. Ben Proud came close behind Gkolomeev, touching in for a personal best time of 20.98, while Magnussen finished last in 22.35. This was significantly slower than Magnussen’s personal best of 21.52 from his prime years.
Shortly after the results were confirmed, McEvoy shared a post on his Instagram story featuring a meme of Gordon Ramsay, saying, “Seriously? That all you got.” It was a humorous response to the performance of the competitors.
This is not the first time Gkolomeev has beaten a world record set by a clean athlete. In the past 12 months, he has earned a combined total of $2.7 million AUD for his record-breaking efforts.
“Another million – I’m going to say that’s not bad at all,” Gkolomeev said. “This is going to change my life for good, that’s for sure.”
Despite his success, Gkolomeev still has ambitions for the future. “Maybe next year I will break it again,” he added.
Magnussen took to the blocks at the Enhanced Games wearing a custom-made gold performance-enhancing suit, designed to commemorate the fact that he was the first athlete to sign on to compete in the event. However, his performance did not match the expectations set by the suit.
Earlier in the day, Pan Zhanle’s 100m freestyle world record of 46.40 was the target for all four swimmers competing in the men’s freestyle events, with a prize of $1.4 million AUD up for grabs for lowering the mark. Magnussen, however, was more than three seconds off recording that time, touching the wall in a pedestrian 49.44 – well short of the 47.10 personal best he set in his prime.
The 35-year-old broke the water last after the starting buzzer sounded and struggled to catch up to Gkolomeev and clean athlete Hunter Armstrong in the opening 50. Gkolomeev sat more than a body length ahead of the field as he turned to complete the final lap.
His pace looked on track to topple Zhanle’s time, but he fell just short, recording a 40.60. Magnussen followed well behind Gkolomeev, touching the wall in fourth place (of four swimmers) in 49.44.
Even though his time was slower than he hoped, Magnussen still had a smile on his face. Gkolomeev was content with his time despite narrowly missing out on the huge prize for breaking the world record – a feat he would achieve soon after in the shorter sprint event.
“It was a good race. I am really happy, very close to the world record,” he said after receiving assistance from Magnussen to take off the top part of his suit post-race.
“I really wanted to (break the world record) but that’s OK. I tried to save some energy for the second 50 but at the end I died a little bit.”
Despite missing the record, Gkolomeev still earned $348,000 AUD for his efforts in the 100m sprint race. Magnussen won just shy of $70,000 for coming fourth.
