As a journalist who covered the fallout from the infamous BALCO steroid investigation, I’m fascinated by how much the once-brutal public judgement heaped upon performance-boosted athletes has softened in the intervening decades. This weekend marks the advent of the Enhanced Games, a sporting event backed by Peter Thiel, Donald Trump Jr., and Saudi royalty (among others) that openly encourages the use of drugs that—if discovered—would have destroyed an athlete’s career in the early aughts. “I keep getting emails on how to watch it on Roku,” a colleague complained to me yesterday, and my own social feeds are laden with ads for the event, which kicks off in Las Vegas on Sunday. If you’re getting nudges to tune in, too, VF’s Clara Molot has a look inside the Enhanced Games that might help you decide to log on—or run away.
Those seeking a less complicated relationship with contemporary performance expectations might prefer our look at Vanity Fair’s past century of athletic portraiture, many of which you’ll recall from issues you paged through in those early days of the millennium—and long before. And if that gallery whets your appetite for beauty, don’t worry, there’s (always) more: Our exhaustive gallery of all the fashion at the 2026 Cannes film festival awaits your discerning eye. |
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BY MAGGIE COUGHLAN, KIA D. GOOSBY, AND MILES POPE |
From John Travolta to Demi Moore to Colman Domingo, revisit all the glamorous looks from this year’s fest. |
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Most drugs are banned in the world of elite sports, but not here. In this competition—backed by Peter Thiel, Donald Trump Jr., and Saudi royalty—the athletes are guinea pigs. And if those backers have their way, you’re next. |
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Theo Baker, former Stanford Daily reporter and the youngest recipient of the George Polk Award for investigative journalism, details his first assignment. |
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BY JONATHAN PACE, CHRIS ROVZAR, AND JEREMY MEGRAW |
From Edward Steichen to Annie Leibovitz, Vanity Fair has been capturing the greatest physical forms in sport, fitness, and dance for a century. From cheeky shots of celebrities like Jane Fonda and Arnold Schwarzenegger to extravagant, sensual portfolios of America’s Olympic squads, the magazine’s pantheon of photographers have helped to define the genre of sports portraiture. |
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