Aussie swimming champion James Magnussen has revealed the impact of his performance-enhancing drug use ahead of a bid to break the 50m world record.
The dual Olympian was one of the fastest 100m swimmers ever, winning two world titles, but has taken on a $1.5 million challenge to break the splash-and-dash record at the Enhanced Games next year.
The event, which launches this week in Las Vegas, will feature athletes across multiple sports including swimming, track and field and weightlifting, competing without drug testing.
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The 34-year-old Magnussen is the poster boy for the event, dubbed the ‘Steroid Games’, and began his first course of PEDs last year.
“I’m definitely allowed to say that I was taking peptides and testosterone, which is pretty much it to be honest,” he told the Nine papers.
“We tried a few different things on top of that. We used BPC-157, CJC-1295, Ipamorelin and Thymosin.
“The BPC-157 and Thymosin is for recovery and to prevent injuries. It promotes healing in the body. The CJC and Ipamorelin enhances your body’s natural production of growth hormone. You’re not injecting growth hormone into you. You’re maximising your body’s own potential.
“The testosterone is the superpower. That’s what gets you bounding out of bed in the morning, lifting massive weights and feeling your best.”
At his peak in the 100m, Magnussen raced at 95 kilograms, but after starting the medically-approved drug process gained 5kg in 10 days and eventually reached a peak of 115kg.
“I got jacked,” he said.
“I was probably 10 to 15 kilos bigger than any swimmer there’s ever been. I did the first seven weeks straight, training twice a day. It was 49 days straight of high-intensity work in the pool and gym.
“The increases in strength are insane. I was squatting over 500 pounds [227kg] and doing bench press with like 120-pound [54kg] dumbbells. I was pumping out reps like it was nothing. The strength stuff was crazy. The thing we struggled with was I just kept putting on size.
“I was probably peaking around Christmas. I kept lifting heavier. I just kept increasing the intensity. What I wasn’t taking into account was that my central nervous system wasn’t recovering at the same rate as my muscles. I’d feel strong and have energy but I didn’t have that pop in my swimming. I think I buried myself a bit at times.”
However he then struggled mentally and needed to have dental surgery on Christmas Day which stalled his progress towards breaking the record at that time.
“Having to inject yourself with a performance enhancing substance is quite a confronting thing,” Magnussen told AAP.
“A lot of it’s just the stigma attached to it that has been built up over years that probably started way back in the ‘80s, and I’d been brought up with.
“That (injecting) was the most confronting thing about the whole process.
“But then it just becomes part of your routine. You get your doctor’s check-ups, you go through the process and you realise it’s no drama.
“If there had have been negative side effects on my health or my fertility or anything like that, then I would question my involvement.
“But now I’ve done it, I’m the first athlete to openly and honestly do it, and I know the data, I’m very comfortable with it.
“Not only will my data help me for my preparation, hopefully it’s pioneering for the other athletes that come on board.”
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