Vanessa Mae is set to ski for Thailand at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

[mojorison]

ah the thais will be proud and take their mind of the aggravation.

they havent had a hero since wattanas last game

Hey don't forget Paradonna...

[binjalin]

it should be where you are a citizen - it's a nonsense as she would not even make the first round in Britain

holds a British passport let her compete for her country not sneak in through Thailand

She has a Thai passport so she's Thai and the Olympics people are okay with it so good for her. But you know, you really ought to tell the IOC how things 'should be'.

Some just don't read beyond the 1st post or else he would have seen multiple times she has a Thai passport and citizenship.

Oh, and it is confirmed now that she has qualified for the Olympics: BTW, she has been skiing since she was 4.

Legendary violinist Vanessa Mae has qualified for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, where she will represent Thailand.

Mae’s manager Giles Holland told the BBC: "It would appear that she's done it. She's done it by a whisker, but she's done it."

The news was later confirmed by the FIS, skiing's governing body, whose representative Ana Jelusic said that Mae "ticks all the boxes," having gained the required level of points in at least five slalom or giant slalom races.

Mae, 35, is British but her father is Thai, meaning she is eligible to represent the South East Asian nation.

And, after putting her music career on hold for 12 months, she has met the FIS eligibility criteria to compete for a country that does not have a world top-500 winter athlete.

uk.eurosport

quote please? re-read the whole piece - no mention she has Thai citizenship in fact:

"I am taking a plunge. I am British, but realistically there is no way I could represent my own country.

edit:

just seen this on another site: Thai authorities at that time requested that she give up her UK passport in exchange for a Thai passport. Later an exception was made for the former child prodigy, and she received a Thai passport while retaining her British one.

so it appears she does have dual citizenship as an "exception" was made - as I said "good luck to her" in my earlier post

[p_brownstone]

Don't the Thais make people choose citizenship at 18yo, kind of makes a mockery of double standards eh... when it is convenient.

She is a cutie.

There is no such provision in the Thai Citizenship laws.

Patrick

[Basil B]

Will Yingluck be going to the Winter Olympics in Sochi?

I seem to recall Thaksin was very keen to go to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

[lomatopo]

In her bid to qualify Miss Mae...

(The 5ft 3in 35-year-old) even raced in a national junior championships, in which she was more than 14 years older than any other entrant, as time ran out.

Quite sporting.

Seriously, at age 35 I hope she realizes the dangers she faces in an Olympic GS race. She will, one assumes, be running last in the first run, when the course is the most dangerous.

[JAG]

I understand that she decided on the career change when she heard that Little Miss JAG had started learning the violin when she entered Prathom 2!

Mind you, having listened to innumerable practice sessions I am considering a career change, do they need a successor to Red Adair?

Actually, the child is a prodigy, and good luck toVanessa Mae as well.

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[3NUMBAS]

she has come in the slowest in 74th place in the giant slalom

[Morakot]

Congratulations!

[3NUMBAS]

shoulda stuck at playing the fiddle ....oh my how her limbs will ache

[lomatopo]

Even dead last she finished both runs, running in poor conditions.

I honestly did not expect her to finish her first run, and somebody has to finish last, so I think congratulations are deserved.

[harrry]

Actually she is way way better than Eddie the Eagle. If all else fails she can always fall back to busking for a living.

[Suriya4]

I don't understand the nit-picking about her nationality and the Thai political undertones on this thread.

Her biological father is Thai and mother is Chinese. She's obviously a talented skier and been competing for years.

Bloody good luck to her.

Does she look European/British to you?

IMHO, she look Thai to me.

Just ask anyone on the street (who does not know her) if she is more Thai or Farang.

You get what I mean.

[Morakot]

Does she look European/British to you?

No, looks more like Asian/British to me.

[harrry]

Does she look European/British to you?

No, looks more like Asian/British to me.

Looks good to me but she definitely does not look as if she has spent very much time in Thailand.

[steveromagnino]

She has no western blood at all from memory, her mother is Singaporean Chinese and her father is Thai. Her step father is English. She has had a Thai passport for a while, and as a Thai offspring is entitled to citizenship as would any foreign born Thai with a Thai parent. I do not know how a Thai is 'suppose to look' but she would pass for Thai to me (based on looks alone).

She managed to finish both runs, admittedly not close to competitive, but she never expected to be, her build and experience is not even close to enough to be competitive - res assured it is very hard to race on a WC/Olympic level prepped GS course (speaking as a former racer) - it's a far cry from running around skiing over a mountain so I think she did as well as could realistically be expected.

To finish was her objective, she achieved it! Hopefully she will race Asian Winter Games in 2017 Hokkaido.

[Tywais]

To finish was her objective, she achieved it!

In an interview before the runs she said:

"If I end up last I have no problem with that," she said.

"I know that I spent six months training. Other athletes have been training since they were six years old so that's something you can't compare.

"I just want to have a good time. I want to have two fun runs that I can say I'll remember for the rest of my life.

"To be here at the Olympics is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I feel so blessed to have this chance to go from artist to athlete, to just experience this is surreal almost."

BBC Sports

[bigbamboo]

As a skier myself I have to admit to a touch of envy here.

Still, at least I know she'll never be as good a violin player as me.

[soihok]

What a star

[soihok]

What's this got to do with Vanessa Mae skiing in the Olympics?

I say well done Vanessa, something I ain't done (then again I'm not a woman and wouldn't be eligible to enter).

[Tywais]

Off topic posts removed.

[Chicog]

I notice she wouldn't compete for Thailand until they gave her a "special" passport and allowed her to keep her British one.

You are supposed to compete for your country with honour, this is just some rich bird having a bit of fun, no respect for her at all.

Same as the other rich twerps that are competing for Dominica.

In fact, why don't they go the whole hog and call it "Olympics with the Stars", or "I'm a Celebrity, get me a medal"?

[Donnie Brasco]

Eddy the Eagle comes to mind.

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[TallGuyJohninBKK]

She has no western blood at all from memory, her mother is Singaporean Chinese and her father is Thai. Her step father is English. She has had a Thai passport for a while, and as a Thai offspring is entitled to citizenship as would any foreign born Thai with a Thai parent. I do not know how a Thai is 'suppose to look' but she would pass for Thai to me (based on looks alone).

She managed to finish both runs, admittedly not close to competitive, but she never expected to be, her build and experience is not even close to enough to be competitive - res assured it is very hard to race on a WC/Olympic level prepped GS course (speaking as a former racer) - it's a far cry from running around skiing over a mountain so I think she did as well as could realistically be expected.

To finish was her objective, she achieved it! Hopefully she will race Asian Winter Games in 2017 Hokkaido.

If nothing else, she gave Thailand a two athlete participation in these Winter Games, as opposed to one.

Not that any of the locals here seem to be paying the least bit of attention to Sochi.

[Bkkbound]

To think she wasted all those years playing the violin when she could have come 65th with a bit more practice... she just has no stamina..

[Mentors]

I watched her race today. Some years ago she signed a Cd for me after her concert in my home country.Beautiful and very talented.

[Bkkbound]

I watched her race today. Some years ago she signed a Cd for me after her concert in my home country.Beautiful and very talented.

She is indeed stunningly beautiful with extreme talent.. Thailand will; be rightly proud of her.

[Chicog]

Eddy the Eagle comes to mind.

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Why? The work he put in on on his own dime merited his place, and at least he represented his own country, not some passport he had to go and apply for, and turn down at first because he wanted to keep the first one.

[bigbamboo]

Eddy the Eagle comes to mind.

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Why? The work he put in on on his own dime merited his place, and at least he represented his own country, not some passport he had to go and apply for, and turn down at first because he wanted to keep the first one.

Eddie may have come over as a crazy Brit but what he did was in the spirit of the Olympics and leaping off that ski jump takes some guts. I love skiing and often stretch myself beyond my abilities but you'd never get me going down one of those things!

[Donnie Brasco]

Eddy the Eagle comes to mind.

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Why? The work he put in on on his own dime merited his place, and at least he represented his own country, not some passport he had to go and apply for, and turn down at first because he wanted to keep the first one.

Eddie may have come over as a crazy Brit but what he did was in the spirit of the Olympics and leaping off that ski jump takes some guts. I love skiing and often stretch myself beyond my abilities but you'd never get me going down one of those things!

I wish to declare unreservedly at this time that I have nothing but the greatest respect for BOTH these individuals.

I was in considerable awe of Mr. Eagle and never once doubted the man's courage nor did I attribute it to some psychological imbalance.

Ms Mae, I hold in slightly different regard although my respect for her may be even more heartfelt.

I would NEVER impugn the motives of such a charismatic, appealing and (I know she'd agree) attention-worthy woman.

I only wish Ms Mae'd done the run, full-bush Monty, as it were.

If that makes me a perv, so be it ;-)

"Sometimes, 'fuggedabowdit' just means fuggedabowdit."

[3NUMBAS]

I watched her race today. Some years ago she signed a Cd for me after her concert in my home country.Beautiful and very talented.

beautifull ? she lost her looks a long time ago unfortunately