Yes, bridge. The card game that your granny plays.
Geir Helgemo, the world’s number one bridge player (yes, they rank them), has been suspended after banned substances were found in his system. During a doping examination. A doping examination for a competitive card game.
Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here.
For whatever reason, the World Bridge Federation is a member of the International Olympic Committee, and thus adheres to its rules on doping. It appears that Helgemo has broken those rules, having tested positive for synthetic testosterone and clomifene, which is a female fertility drug.
According to Deadspin, it’s not clear what kind of advantage that this would have given Helgemo.
Helgemo will be banned from the sport (sport?) until 20 November, 2019. He has also been fined €3,659.
In researching this article, I also learned that Helgemo is a full-time member of a bridge team led and paid by the Swiss real estate tycoon Pierre Zimmermann, and all six members of the team emigrated to Monaco in order to represent Monaco at international tournaments.
The team has been stripped of their win at last year’s Rosenblum Cup, thanks to Helgemo’s actions.
Helgemo is originally from Norway.
