
World’s No 1 bridge player suspended after failing a drugs test - ucha
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/01/world-no1-bridge-player-suspended-after-failing-a-drugs-test-geir-helgemo
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rdegges
This is so... Silly. It's too bad this article is light on the details.

I wonder if this guy is just on testosterone replacement therapy, which is an
increasingly common occurrence. Low testosterone can cause poor health and a
number of other issues (some psychological) in men.

Regardless, saying that because someone tests positive for a non performance
enhancing drug they should have their card playing medals stripped makes no
sense at all. :/

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Alex3917
> I wonder if this guy is just on testosterone replacement therapy

More likely he was trying to have kids.

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Nelson69
WADA and most sports have exemptions. A so-called "Therapeutic Usage
Exemption" or TUE. They are easy enough to get that team doctors for certain
cycling teams have abused them.

The female drug is the interesting one. Typically testosterone is detected by
measuring the ratios of different hormones, a lot of testosterone isn't even
unusual in many people but it's balanced out by epi-testosterone. When you add
testosterone via unnatural means the ratio skews. (Read about "the cream" that
Barry Bonds used with "The Clear", it was used for masking) Hard to say what
goes on in some of these folks' heads, they generally know the rules and they
know the penalties and they know they'll be tested. I'd assume he took both to
mask something. If you're really trying to have kids or on T-replacement, you
have a doctor treating use, measuring things and that doctor can provide a TUE
letter.

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RileyJames
> tested positive for synthetic testosterone and the female fertility drug
> clomifene

Neither appear to be illegal (although require prescription in most countries)
and neither are performance enhancing.

What is the purpose of these rules in this case?

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CamperBob2
I don't know what clomifene does, but testosterone improves stress response,
in the sense that naturally-fluctuating levels may be a disadvantage in that
regard.

It's not a nootropic as such, but it could legitimately be called out as a
performance aid in any high-pressure competition whether athletic or mental.

~~~
benj111
The article says it isn't performance enhancing.

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CamperBob2
If the bridge association is blindly adopting rules meant to govern physical
athletic performances -- or if the IOC is forcing them to do so -- then the
people responsible are obviously a bunch of morons. That conclusion seems
unlikely to be the right one, so I'll stand by my point until more information
comes to light. I'm not professionally qualified to argue it either way.

~~~
benj111
"Kari-Anne Opsal, president of the Norwegian Bridge Federation, said the drugs
were “not performance enhancing”."

So I don't think its reasonable to go looking to performance enhancement as a
reason.

To me it does appear that they're following rules meant for actual athletes.
How much choice they had I don't know.

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benj111
So if I'm understanding this correctly, the IOC /WADA has one list of banned
drugs regardless of sport and gender.

To me it seems obvious that performance enhancing varies from sport to sport.
Why did this not occur to the IOC/WADA ???

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jlarocco
I disagree. Most drugs on the list (maybe even all?) will increase physical
performance across the board for all physical activity. Testosterone will bump
up muscle production whether you're swimming, running, cycling, lifting,
skiing, or whatever.

This is just more evidence that Bridge doesn't belong in the Olympics, IMO.

~~~
benj111
Example, there are banned drugs the open up the airways. Now if you're doing
an endurance event then it is probably performance enhancing, if you're a
curler or a diver, not so much.

Then there are in between sports (that rely on skill as much as or more than
physical strength) do you want a blanket ban on a drug some people may
legitimately use just to prevent some one gaining an advantage? I would say
possibly, but it should be evidence based, it shouldn't be done lightly.

Further the drug testing regime isn't some casual, hand in a urine sample with
your entry form. Its making yourself available at set times, just in case some
one tests you, and then it's peeing in a cup in front of them.

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Robin_Message
There are drugs that are banned in some sports but not others, e.g. beta-
blockers.

Source: built the UK drug database and peeing in a cup scheduling system
around 2004.

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benj111
Do you have any idea why Bridge would ban, what they admit is a non
performance enhancing drug then?

Is it because of the IOC links?

~~~
Robin_Message
Good question. I believe that whilst there are a few drugs that have different
rules for different sports, in general it is easier to just have the same
rules for all sports. It's possibly this doesn't make sense with regard to
"mind-sports" like Bridge; there's probably some politics involved.

Back in 2004, I remember drugs were broken down into categories and almost all
categories were either blanket banned, allowed out of competition but not in
competition, or allowed. Very few categories (possibly only beta-blockers?)
had a more complex classification. While that was 15 years ago, I think the
system is still similar.

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benj111
Do you have any special insights into the process?

Naively, I would hope that the Bridge governing body would get the
stakeholders together with medical experts to come together to decide on a
sensible list. That doesn't seem to be the case, I'm guessing it's (lack of)
money?

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Simulacra
Ok this is getting ridiculous. Physical performance enhancing drugs I can
understand, but there is no magic pill, no genius injection, and absolutely no
definitive proof that a specific drug is going to give someone an advantage.
There is simply too much bioindividuality...hence why I don't take adderall
anymore.

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ucha
There is proof that modafinil and methylphenidate (Provigil and Ritalin)
improve chess performance:
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X1...](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X17300196)

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droithomme
The anti-doping stuff has gone too far. It's like the zero tolerance policies
in schools where students are expelled for bringing a 1cm long lego gun to
school.

In addition to the points that this is a legal drug, was probably prescribed
for a legitimate use, and isn't performance enhancing for bridge, there's the
issue where actual drugs that are performance enhancing for bridge, like
caffeine, are not banned.

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maehwasu
Can’t have Bezos Prime intimdating others at the bridge table.

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forgotmypw2
I thought it was going to be a stimulant like adderall, which probably would
give a bridge player a significant advantage.

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ydnaclementine
related xkcd: [https://xkcd.com/1173/](https://xkcd.com/1173/)

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BenMorganIO
Well, I guess he burned that bridge XD

