Max McCusker has change into the second Irish Olympic swimmer to affix the controversial Enhanced Video games.

In October, three-time Olympian Shane Ryan confirmed he had signed up after saying his retirement from swimming, a transfer which was condemned by Swim Eire.

McCusker, who represented Eire on the 2024 Paris Video games, has adopted Ryan’s choice to affix a contest that can permit athletes to make use of performance-enhancing substances with out being topic to drug checks.

Staff GB Olympic swimmer Ben Proud, four-time Greece Olympian Kristian Gkolomeev and US sprinter Fred Kerley are amongst these set to compete.

The primary Enhanced Video games are on account of happen in Las Vegas in 2026 with every occasion awarded a complete prize purse of $500,000 (£375,000) and $1m (£750,000) on supply for rivals who break world information.

McCusker, 26, competed within the males’s 4x100m medley relay in Paris alongside Ryan, Conor Ferguson and Darragh Greene.

On the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, McCusker broke the Irish 100m butterfly report twice in sooner or later with instances of 52.52 and 52.31 seconds.

The previous Arizona State College swimmer additionally set an Irish 100m butterfly report of 51.90 seconds in the course of the Irish Open in 2024.

American Caeleb Dressel set the 100m butterfly world report in a 50m pool at 49.45 seconds in 2021, whereas in October 2025 Canadian Josh Liendo broke the quick course report with a time of 47.68 seconds in a 25m pool.