As of 2008, only ten players have collected The Triple Crown of Contract Bridge, that is won all of the three most important tournaments in bridge, the Bermuda Bowl, the World Team Olympiad and the World Open Pairs Championship. The ten winners are:
Name | Bermuda Bowl | Olympiad | World Pairs |
---|---|---|---|
Pierre Jaïs | 1956 | 1960 | 1962 |
Roger Trézel | 1956 | 1960 | 1962 |
Bob Hamman | 1970 | 1988 | 1974 |
Bobby Wolff | 1970 | 1988 | 1974 |
Jeff Meckstroth | 1981 | 1988 | 1986 |
Eric Rodwell | 1981 | 1988 | 1986 |
Marcelo Branco | 1989 | 1976 | 1978 |
Gabriel Chagas | 1989 | 1976 | 1990 |
Fulvio Fantoni | 2005 | 2004 | 2002 |
Claudio Nunes | 2005 | 2004 | 2002 |
The year in bold is the year in which each player won the concluding of his three titles.
As the World Team Olympiad and the World Open Pairs Championship alternate in subsequent even-numbered years, whilst the Bermuda Bowl is held in the odd-numbered years, in theory it is possible to win the three triple crown events in a timespan of no more than three years. So far, no bridge player has accomplished this feat. Closest came Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes who won the three events in a timespan of four years. As defending champions they ended third in the 2006 World Open Pairs Championship, the closest any partnership ever got in defending their title in this event. A win would have secured them a 'three-year' triple crown.
Famous quotes containing the words triple, crown and/or bridge:
“The triple pillar of the world transformed
Into a strumpets fool.”
—William Shakespeare (15641616)
“To be a king and wear a crown is more glorious to them that see it than it is pleasure to them that bear it.”
—Elizabeth I (15331603)
“What need the bridge much broader than the flood?”
—William Shakespeare (15641616)