You’ve heard about athletes using performance enhancing drugs (PED) to improve their athletic performance or to give them a competitive edge over their competitors but this recent article (A Doping Scandal In Bridge? The World’s Top Player Fails Drug Test) about the world’s best bridge player failing a drug test had me intrigued. I would never have even thought about testing card players for drugs.
According to the article, Geir Helgemo tested positive for testosterone and clomiphene.
“Testosterone is typically used as a PED to build lean muscle mass. This, in turn, can help increase physical strength, explosiveness, and speed, which aren’t exactly the first three things that you may associate with bridge. The female fertility drug clomiphene can help you get pregnant but may not work as well in doing so if you are a man. If you are a man, this medication can further alter your testosterone levels by affecting the chemical pathways between the hypothalamus, pituitary, and testes, according to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.”
This type of article makes me think about the possibilities of using this idea in different kinds of stories and characters. This idea can breakdown and breakthrough stereotypes. Forget your image of a typical bridge player. My theater professor used to always tell me to pick the most interesting choice and I can hear him saying that when I write. What is the most interesting choice (sport and/or character) using this idea?
Who wants to talk more about how you can use this in your current or next story?
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