All smiles for Vanessa Mae despite violinist finishing LAST on Olympic skiing debut

[Maggusoil]

I don't think she is even a Thai citizen. She can't speak Thai and grew up in the U.K. and got to the Olympics just because of her looks and tenuous connection to Thailand, it is really disrespectful that she was allowed to compete with real atheletes who have trained a better part of their lives to achieve this goal.

Whatever one's background, just to get in to the Olympics is a considerable feat isn't it?

Your description seems to fit other WELL KNOWN important "Thai" people in this country.

Far more important than this

[webfact]

RUSSIA
Thailand's Vanessa Vanakorn competes during the Women's Alpine Skiing Giant Slalom Run 1 at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center during the Sochi Winter Olympics on February 18, 2014.


-- TNA 2014-02-19

[Suriya4]

So, now that the promotion is over, what's she selling, a new album ? Or was she just trying to get next to Putin for a chance at the Empress seat ?

Maybe Yingluck should also have a go in 4 years.

Not sure if she can qualify.

[sniffdog]

You go girl .. she can play my fiddle any day.

[steveromagnino]

As a Thai, I would say that many of us who ski are very happy to see Thailand, a country with no snow and no tradition of skiing, represented at the Winter Olympics, even if it is by 2 skiers who are not living in Thailand (but both have Thai passports - one is from USA, one is from UK - Vanessa) and who have zero chance of medalling. Every sport, every athlete, stands on the shoulders of those who have come before them.

She has been training full time on the snow since 2010, so this is not exactly something that occurred 6 months ago as is implied (makes a better news angle); however she realistically knew what she had to do to qualify (compete at a national level - in Slovakia I think from memory and several other countries) over the last 12 months (mostly the last 6 as that's the nature of a winter sport since I don't think she went to race in NZ/Australia/Chile). She has skied most of her life. to qualify, she needs to achieve a certain FIS standing over the last 2 years, and there is slight favouritism for countries with very few athletes as well as no restrictions on choosing only the best athletes to go, meaning she achieved the standard AND she benefitted that Thailand has so few athletes so she was not chosen to go ahead of someone else (this would not happen if say she was in USA where there are many athletes above the standard required to qualify, but a restriction on how many are allowed to go to Sochi).

Her standard is pretty poor...relative to an tree trunks thighed Olympic athlete. relative to a club level skier, she is very, very good. She has totally the wrong build for SL/GS - way too small, not powerful enough and far too old - so were she to have grown up skiing at the highest levels, she would have dropped out many, many years ago because it's not possible for someone of her size to race and be finishing high up - skiing, with the new shaped skis and in Slalom/GS particularly, favours bigger people. She was not going to be competitive in SG or Downhill, and it would be frigging dangerous to put someone without a lifetime commitment to skiing on those courses.

Thai people in Bangkok some know who she is, bear in mind her music was popular 15 years ago, people probably have forgotten Bond (a group that leveraged her success) now, but they were huge in the mid 2000s.

She has raised the status of Sochi Olympics a little, including getting us here a little coverage, and for someone who doesn't compete in the Europa Cup or World Cup, to show that the Olympics are achievable to attend even for a celebrity, if they work hard enough, is pretty inspirational - much like the Jamacian Bobsled team.

Unlike many here, I have competed at a national level in Thailand and abroad; sometimes it's not about trying to win, in fact almost never is it about trying to win - it is about setting an objective, committing to the path to get there, and seeing it through. She did those things. Congratulations Vanessa!

Edited February 19, 2014 by steveromagnino

[prvtdetdave]

Really? Really? This is an actual post?

Well hats off to her and many congrats just for finnishing, but is this something really news worthy for TV?

[Hulkster]

I can support the Jamaican bobsledders, but some hi-so doing a ski run in between shopping expeditions I can't get enthusiastic about.

[fredKroket]

Making a mockery of the sport, the serious athletes, and the Olympics, not to mention dragging Thailand to be last.

People always using Thailand when they can't cut it in their own countries.

Absolute rubbish. She is qualified to represent Thailand, has trained for years to achieve this, did her best. There is no shame in coming last..in fact, it is a time-honoured tradition at the Olympics that the person coming last gets as much of a cheer from the crowd as the winner, celebrating the efforts in even getting that far. Well done, Vanessa Mae !!

Agree with you totally, I see some comments here about Xenophobia and Thailand being made a mockery, it's people like this who make a mockery of themselves with nothing better to do all day except whinge. Great to see the spirit of the Olympics is alive and well, well done Vanessa. Reminds me of that film Cool Runnings with the Jamaican Bob Sleigh team.

[Robby nz]

Really? Really? This is an actual post?

Well hats off to her and many congrats just for finnishing, but is this something really news worthy for TV?

Probably is mate after all 66 posts to you and Yinglucks hate speech only has 47 so far.

[tomyummer]

So, now that the promotion is over, what's she selling, a new album ? Or was she just trying to get next to Putin for a chance at the Empress seat ?

Maybe Yingluck should also have a go in 4 years.

Not sure if she can qualify.

I heard that Yaowapa and Sudarat are looking to form the first Thai Curling team.

[canman]

So, now that the promotion is over, what's she selling, a new album ? Or was she just trying to get next to Putin for a chance at the Empress seat ?

Maybe Yingluck should also have a go in 4 years.

Not sure if she can qualify.

I heard that Yaowapa and Sudarat are looking to form the first Thai Curling team.

I would love to see that. Anyone noticed how many hotties there are in womens curling?

From the Vancouver games: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/23/curling-cuties-15-irresis_n_473300.html

Edited February 19, 2014 by canman

[expat888]

She deserves a metal just for that picture.

[tomyummer]

So, now that the promotion is over, what's she selling, a new album ? Or was she just trying to get next to Putin for a chance at the Empress seat ?

Maybe Yingluck should also have a go in 4 years.

Not sure if she can qualify.

I heard that Yaowapa and Sudarat are looking to form the first Thai Curling team.

I would love to see that. Anyone noticed how many hotties there are in womens curling?

From the Vancouver games: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/23/curling-cuties-15-irresis_n_473300.html

Me too. But on what channel can you actually watch the Winter Olympics?

[jucel]

Just a few quick facts about her heritage etc. Her Dad is Thai, her mother is Chinese, she was born in Singapore and raised in Britain.

[expat888]

Making a mockery of the sport, the serious athletes, and the Olympics, not to mention dragging Thailand to be last.

People always using Thailand when they can't cut it in their own countries.

Absolute rubbish. She is qualified to represent Thailand, has trained for years to achieve this, did her best. There is no shame in coming last..in fact, it is a time-honoured tradition at the Olympics that the person coming last gets as much of a cheer from the crowd as the winner, celebrating the efforts in even getting that far. Well done, Vanessa Mae !!

Agree with you totally, I see some comments here about Xenophobia and Thailand being made a mockery, it's people like this who make a mockery of themselves with nothing better to do all day except whinge. Great to see the spirit of the Olympics is alive and well, well done Vanessa. Reminds me of that film Cool Runnings with the Jamaican Bob Sleigh team.

I think there is room for both. Thais are absolutely xenophobic and yes she deserves a metal.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I would concur that VM has never really emphasized her Thai background/ethnicity. But, clearly, she was eligible to compete for Thailand, and congratulations to her for doing so.

As for the nationality issue, it's obviously a somewhat flexible thing when it comes to the Olympics, and not just with Mae.

From watching the broadcasts this month, I'm pretty sure one of the main American male figure skaters was born in Russia and then his family emigrated to the U.S. when he was very young. Likewise, I remember seeing similar circumstances about a couple of other Olympic athletes this year. And I didn't hear anyone complaining about those athletes.

Bronze Medalist Simon Shnapir

United States

• Gender: Male
• Nationality: United States

• Birthday: 20 August 1987
• Age: 26

• Height: 1.93 m (6' 4'')
• Weight: -

• Place of Birth: Russian Fed., MOSCOW
• Place of Residence: -

Figure Skating

Here's a photo essay, meanwhile, of U.S. athletes who, thru a variety of means, are competing for other nation's teams this year:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/photos/american-athletes-competing-for-other-countries-in-sochi-1392070841-slideshow/vic-wild-russaia-speeds-down-photo-160156210--spt.html

Edited February 19, 2014 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[expat888]

Really? Really? This is an actual post?

Well hats off to her and many congrats just for finnishing, but is this something really news worthy for TV?

Yes newsworthy in TV. The picture was newsworthy.

[JoeThePoster]

So, now that the promotion is over, what's she selling, a new album ? Or was she just trying to get next to Putin for a chance at the Empress seat ?

Maybe Yingluck should also have a go in 4 years.

Not sure if she can qualify.

Maybe, she could qualify for rice skating.

[tomyummer]

I would concur that VM has never really emphasized her Thai background/ethnicity. But, clearly, she was eligible to compete for Thailand, and congratulations to her for doing so.

As for the nationality issue, it's obviously a somewhat flexible thing when it comes to the Olympics, and not just with Mae.

From watching the broadcasts this month, I'm pretty sure one of the main American male figure skaters was born in Russia or the Soviet Union and then his family emigrated to the U.S. when he was very young. Likewise, I remember seeing about a skier for, I believe, the Switzerland team who was born in Russia, and something similar involving a speed skater on the Korean team. And I didn't hear anyone complaining about those athletes.

Emigrating to your new adopted country and representing it seems justified. Borrowing your father's country with no intent of moving to or having anything to do with it afterwards sounds sleazy. Who knows, maybe she'll move afterwards. Btw, was there any mention of the king or holding up his picture anywhere? Just wondering.

[liddelljohn]

She did her best ,, the posters who criticise her probably cant even get out of bed I can ski but certainly no where near her ability ,,, so well done vanessa ,,

[JoeThePoster]

She deserves a metal just for that picture.

Not just any metal, she should go for gold, bronze or silver.

[Chicog]

Making a mockery of the sport, the serious athletes, and the Olympics, not to mention dragging Thailand to be last.

People always using Thailand when they can't cut it in their own countries.

Absolute rubbish. She is qualified to represent Thailand, has trained for years to achieve this, did her best. There is no shame in coming last..in fact, it is a time-honoured tradition at the Olympics that the person coming last gets as much of a cheer from the crowd as the winner, celebrating the efforts in even getting that far. Well done, Vanessa Mae !!

She's trained for six months, and she wasn't interested in doing it when they told her she'd have to give up her British passport.

She's a joke and shouldn't be there.

[binjalin]

so well done Vanessa! procuring a Thai passport of convenience to swell your ego but Thailand comes last!!! kudos

[FalangBaa]

She does Fiddle around ,quite well !

images (9).jpg

vanessa_mae.jpg

That's it man! She should be able to get a Gold for Thailand in the Synchronized Violining While Standing in Water at the Rio Olympics in 2016!!!

[tomyummer]

so well done Vanessa! procuring a Thai passport of convenience to swell your ego but Thailand comes last!!! kudos

Wow, that's cruel!

But I couldn't have said it better myself.

[bigbamboo]

Making a mockery of the sport, the serious athletes, and the Olympics, not to mention dragging Thailand to be last.

People always using Thailand when they can't cut it in their own countries.

And some us are enjoying a good life here in Thailand because we could.

Cheers!

[pistachios]

No "Connections" involved - she does not know the people nor the politics here (lucky her!). She qualified fair and square based on her performance.

No other Thai met the qualifying criteria.

She's "passionate" about, and has been, skiing for years. If you're interested, this is an interesting article which details her background.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1042593/The-heart-breaking-moment-I-realised-mother-cut-forever-violin-virtuoso-Vanessa-Mae.html

No other Thai met the qualifying criteria because none bothered to try. If a granny from papuasa new guinea had finished a few FIS slaloms on wooden skis, she would have gone to the olympics too. Not really fair and square for normal athletes.

She has been training full time on the snow since 2010, so this is not exactly something that occurred 6 months ago as is implied (makes a better news angle); however she realistically knew what she had to do to qualify (compete at a national level - in Slovakia I think from memory and several other countries) over the last 12 months (mostly the last 6 as that's the nature of a winter sport since I don't think she went to race in NZ/Australia/Chile). She has skied most of her life. to qualify, she needs to achieve a certain FIS standing over the last 2 years, and there is slight favouritism for countries with very few athletes as well as no restrictions on choosing only the best athletes to go, meaning she achieved the standard AND she benefitted that Thailand has so few athletes so she was not chosen to go ahead of someone else (this would not happen if say she was in USA where there are many athletes above the standard required to qualify, but a restriction on how many are allowed to go to Sochi).

Not really. She also finished last in all of the qualifying races she participated in. Even against a bunch of teenagers in a small country's national junior championship, she lost dozens of seconds on short races. She only qualified because of some loophole in the ruling. Performance didn't matter, she only needed to get the funds to race a few slaloms and to cross the line, regardless of her time. To say there is a slight favouritism for some countries is quite an understatement.

There is a limit in the total number of athletes participating in the olympics, so she did take the place of a real athlete, unfortunately for him or her.

IMO this is a bit pathetic. If I had a Tuvalu passport, and I had enough money to get me in the olympics for the 100m event thanks to favourable rulings, would I want to race next to Usain Bolt, even if I could only run the 100m in 13s? No way, I wouldn't want to embarrass myself and my country in front of cameras from all over the world.

[ESDinBKK]

Making a mockery of the sport, the serious athletes, and the Olympics, not to mention dragging Thailand to be last.

People always using Thailand when they can't cut it in their own countries.

Absolute rubbish. She is qualified to represent Thailand, has trained for years to achieve this, did her best. There is no shame in coming last..in fact, it is a time-honoured tradition at the Olympics that the person coming last gets as much of a cheer from the crowd as the winner, celebrating the efforts in even getting that far. Well done, Vanessa Mae !!

The article I read quoted her as saying that she just started training the last six months for the Olympics. Seems to me just another case of Thai rich girl getting more thrills.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Soutpeel]

so well done Vanessa! procuring a Thai passport of convenience to swell your ego but Thailand comes last!!! kudos

Nomination for the most idiotic post of the day me thinks

But following on with the same theme, could we suggest that some farangs get married to Thai ladies to secure a long term visa for Thailand ?

I suspect a lot of sour grapes comes from those farangs who believe they are Thaier than Thai, and Vanessa has something which they will never get....a Thai passport...

[Kerryd]

LoL - Apparently only 1 person here is aware that there is also a male Thai skier in these Olympics as well.

Kanes Sucharitakul (born in Bangkok and does speak Thai) who is competing in the Men's Giant Slalom, which coincidentally, starts today it seems. He is scheduled to be the 98th (of 109) skiers down the run today. (BTW - he is studying Science at the University of Cambridge, where he also competed as a light-welterweight boxer). Bonus Trivia ! He was also the Flag Bearer for the Thai team (all 5 of them, 2 athletes and 3 coaches/trainers) !

As for Vanessa - good for her. I'd rather stand in net facing a flurry of slap shots than try skiing down a mountain at breakneck speeds. The article mentioning her finishing last doesn't mention that there were 16 other skiers who, unlike Vanessa, didn't finish in the first run, and while she was last in the second run as well, there were 7 more who didn't finish at all.

In any competition that has more than 1 person it in, someone has to finish last.

(ps: how well did the UK's women do in that event ? Oh right, no UK women in that event. Pity.)

And judging by the reports from Sochi, staying in a hotel downtown (as many other athletes are also doing) is, if anything, quite possibly worse than staying in the athlete's village ! (And isn't her "partner" there, as well as her dog ?)

BTW - have you looked at the list of countries participating in this Olympics ?

Dominica ? (A US born and an Italian born skier).

Tonga ? (1 Luger).

Morocco ? (1 Canadian born, 1 US born skier).

Jamaica ? (Of course, 3 bobsleighers).

Bermuda ? (1 US born skier).

Togo ? (1 Italian born and 1 home-grown skier).

Venezuela ? (1 home-grown skier).

Philippines ? (1 home-grown figure skater).

Timor-Leste (1 French born skier).

The 1 snow boarder "from Paraguay" went to the US when she adopted at 8 months old and never went back once until just last year (when she was 20) and is now competing as a Paraguayan.

The lone "Mexican" (Hubertus Von Hohenlohe) is a 55 year old skier competing in his 6th Olympics ! (Trivia - he is best known for photographing sexy girls topless on the slopes for calendars. See the Jackie Chamoun controversy. He has also released 8 pop albums under the name "Andy Himalaya"). (He's only Mexican because his Austrian parents were working in Mexico when he was born).

Besides, a little free publicity never hurts. She's managed to get that for herself, Thailand, Women's Skiing and the Olympics all in a combined time of just under 3'27".