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Geir Helgemo, the world's number one bridge player, has been banned from playing the card game professionally after failing a drugs test.
Norwegian Helgemo has been slapped with a one-year ban after testing positive for synthetic testosterone and a female fertility drug during a competition last year.
The peculiar case has left many asking how testosterone would help someone in a card game but the World Bridge Federation is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, thus is bound to follow the World Anti-Doping Agency’s rules.
Because of this Helgemo has been stripped of all the titles, medals and points he won during the 2018 World Bridge Series event and he is banned from competing in events until November 2020.
Helgemo has represented Monaco since 2011 after years of representing Norway. He has accepted that he breached anti-doping rules however the president of the Norwegian Bridge Federation, Kari-Anne Opsal, has released a statement noting that the drugs were “not performance-enhancing.”
https://www.rt.com/news/452841-bridge-player-helgemo-doping-ban/