Ben Proud, the Olympic silver medallist for Great Britain in the 50m freestyle at Pais 2024 and a former World champion in dash events, has accepted that he will never return to the clean-sport pool after joining the doping-friendly organisation using athletes as part of a research project on human longevity.

Proud, 30, does not have to take drugs in the Enhanced Games orbit he will join as he retires from competitive swimming in the anti-doping realm, but he can, may and, some believe, will, take banned drugs "to see how far I can take things".

In a statement, the British regulator for he sport condemned Proud's decision, saying:

Aquatics GB is immensely disappointed in Ben Proud’s announcement to sign with the Enhanced Games. Aquatics GB, along with our partners, stand firmly behind the values and principles of clean sport and condemns Ben’s decision in the strongest terms. A further statement will be issued in due course.

He is also likely to wear kit such as polyurethane non-textile compression suits banned by World Aquatics (FINA) since 2010, but, so far, the fastest enhanced swimmers in the world race in neither official nor EG swimming, despite claims o 'world records' having been broken: fin swimmers and their enhanced speed knock all others into a cocked hat when it comes to humans travelling through water, enhanced or otherwise.

Proud departs the competitive realm of his youth and pre-Thirties for an experience that will "give me a new opportunity to continue this pursuit and see how far I can take things". It may also offer him prizes such as $1m for being the fastest swimmer in the EG realm if he achieves that.

Asked if he thinks the event undermines clean sport, Proud told BBC Sport: No. I think it opens up the potential avenue to excel in a very different way. Speaking for myself, I think realistically I've achieved everything I can, and now the Enhanced [Games] is giving me a new opportunity. I definitely don't think that's undermining a clean sport.

"I really respect the sport I've been part of, and I would never step back in knowing I've done something which isn't in the rules."

Earlier this year, World Aquatics became the first international sport federation to ban athletes, coaches and officials from its events if they participate in the Enhanced Games.

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The sad is in the sentence above because Proud will now be excluded from participating in the world in which he made his name as a great sprinter, and, not least of all, because in his racing days he supported UK Anti-Doping's Clean Sport Week while British team-mates Adam Peaty and Duncan Scott.

All three have been outspoken against doping, while Scott is the man who refused to stand on a podium with China's two-time WADA-Code violator Sun Yang* at the 2019 World Championships.

Proud role the BBC that he sees 'traditional sport' and the Enhanced Games as "two very separate entities", and that he found athletes breaking the rules "incredibly frustrating. I see doping in clean sports as a complete no-go. I don't have any time for that. The fact it's still happening is a problem. It'll always be a cat and mouse game, there will always be people developing new techniques or people getting away with things.

"That's one thing that has ruined sport for a lot of people. The anti-doping agencies just don't have the ability to completely make sure everyone is clean and on a level playing field, and that to me has always been the biggest frustration.

"If you were part of my life for the past 12, 13 years, you'd see how much time you have to allocate to making sure we're available to be tested on a daily basis, making sure we're constantly giving our samples."

All the more frustrating then to see Proud set an example in a realm that embraces doping as a swimmer who many young swimmers in a sport largely inhabited by teenagers, look up to.

It is possible that they will not now get to see Proud handing out medals at nationals, making appearances at live events as a big achiever of his sport, because the message to those who follow him is likely to be rejected by all members of World Aquatics, Team GB, Aquatics GB and all others affiliated to the Olympic Movement.

Then kick back from the swimming realm Proud has left has begun, among the early tweets one that we may see repeated over and over in the hours and days and weeks ahead...