British violinist Vanessa Mae to represent Thailand for skiing at Sochi winter Olympics
- Mae, a keen skier since childhood, competes as Vanessa Vanakorn
- She raced four times in Slovenia at the weekend to qualify for Sochi
- Nations with nobody in world top 500 may send man and woman to Games
- But they have to also qualify on second set of criteria before they can go
- She unofficially qualified after four back-to-back giant slalom races
- She says: 'I'm British but realistically there is no way I could represent my own country, but because my natural father is Thai, they have accepted me'
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Talent: Vanessa Mae has sold more than 10million records and was the youngest soloist ever to record the demanding Beethoven and Tchaikovsky violin concertos when she was 13
Violinist Vanessa Mae is putting her music career on ice while she skis for Thailand at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics next month.
Mae, an avid skier since childhood, has been competing as Vanessa Vanakorn, adopting her father's surname.
And over the weekend, the child music prodigy completed four grueling races in Slovenia in a last-ditch bid to qualify for the event.
Mae, who has sold more than 10 million records worldwide, said: 'I'm British but realistically there is no way I could represent my own country, but because my natural father is Thai, they have accepted me.'
Manager Giles Holland, speaking on behalf of Mae, told the BBC: 'It would appear that she's done it. She's done it by a whisker, but she's done it.'
'Vanessa Mae has unofficially qualified for the Olympic Games, that I could say to you,' added Marko Rudolf, a Slovenian masters skier with links to the committee that organised the races.
Under current Olympic qualification rules, countries with no skier ranked in the world's top 500 may send one man and one woman to the Games - to compete in slalom and giant slalom - if those athletes meet a second set of criteria.
Thailand has no skiers ranked in the world's top 500 for any Alpine discipline. To meet the second criteria, Mae had to produce an average of 140 points or fewer over five recognised races.
Under skiing's system of ranking, the fewer points an athlete has, the better they are.
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Talent: Vanessa Mae, left, is a global superstar int eh world of classical music. She is also ranked 3,166 in the world in giant slalom, right
Nom de guerre: Mae, a keen skier since childhood, has been competing as Vanessa Vanakorn using her father's surname
Qualified: She raced four times in Slovenia at the weekend in a last-ditch bid to meet the qualifying standard
Mae scraped through over the weekend, dipping under the 140-mark average thanks to strong results in a series of four back-to-back giant slalom races in Slovenia.
The 5ft 3in 35-year-old was even forced to race in a national junior championships, in which she was more than 14 years older than any other entrant, as time ran out.
The world governing body must still confirm Mae's place at the Games when the final points lists are published on Monday.
Mae has spoken previously of her ambition to compete at the Winter Games.
Glamourous: She will be swapping her gowns for salopettes when she competes in Sochi, Russia, next month
She announced her bid to qualify for Sochi 2014 as early as mid-2010, telling the Daily Telegraph: 'It has been my dream and I am hoping people will accept I just want to give it my best.
'To even get to the Olympics, I have to qualify for the 2013 World Championships and the standard is high.
'I am taking a plunge. I am British, but realistically there is no way I could represent my own country.
'But because my natural father is Thai, they have accepted me.'
Love of the slope: Mae has been skiing since she was a child
In the latest rankings, Mae is 3,166 in the world in giant slalom.
Vanessa Mae started playing the piano at three and the violin at five. Aged just ten, she made her solo debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London at the Royal Festival Hall.
She was the youngest soloist ever to record the demanding Beethoven and Tchaikovsky violin concertos when she was 13.
She was the girl who bridged the classical/popular music divide and became an overnight sensation when pictures of her rising provocatively out of the sea, her diaphanous dress clinging to her wet body, were used on the cover of her first single.
Her record sales have reached ten million copies worldwide.
And in 2006, the Sunday Times rich list ranked her as the wealthiest entertainer aged under 30, with an estimated fortune of £32 million. Today her wealth is nearer £40 million.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2542605/British-violinist-Vanessa-Mae-represent-Thailand-skiing-Sochi-winter-Olympics.html#ixzz2qybF2700
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