Vanessa-Mae To Compete At Sochi. But Chemmy Alcott Will Probably Miss Out
World famous classical violinist Vanessa-Mae is to compete at Sochi!!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-olympics/25802907
I couldn't quite believe it when I saw this story on John Kerr's Facebook page, but I went to the FIS website, and it is right enough!
Here is her FIS Bio:
http://data.fis-ski.com/dynamic/athlete-biography.html?sector=AL&competitorid=168683&type=result
I had always assumed that her first name was "Vanessa", and her surname was "Mae". But I only found out today that the "Mae" is actually part of a double-barrelled first name ("Vanessa-Mae"), and that her surname is actually Vanakorn.
As the story explains, she realised that she had no hope of being selected for the British team, so she is using her Dad's nationality to compete for Thailand.
And because Thailand doesn't have any other competitors, it has meant that Vanesssa-Mae only had to get the required points to qualify (Along the same lines that the TES is used to qualify in figure skating). And she did... by the skin of her teeth!
The irony is that it looks like the British top skiier, Chemmy Alcott, will probably not get to compete at Sochi.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-olympics/25800077
Chemmy broke her leg in August 2012, and was planning on making her comeback a Cortina d'Ampezzo yesterday. But the competition was cancelled because of bad weather, and the selections need to be made this week.
Personally, I am very annoyed that Chemmy left it to the last minute to make her competitive comeback. Like, she has been back training (with the Norwegian team) for a good while now, and has attended the past few races with the Norwegian coaches.
So, since she was at the race meetings anyway, why did she not enter?! When you have been out of action for a year-and-a-half, what difference is coming back a week or 2 early going to make?!
You can't control the weather. Every meeting has the risk of the weather forcing it to be cancelled hanging over it. So, give yourself a couple of opportunities to make the comeback, rather than restrict it to just the one.
Chemmy's team were very foolish not to take this into consideration, and it has probably now cost her an Olympic appearance.
Good luck to Vanessa-Mae!
CaroLiza_fan
BBC (all times GMT)
Monday 10th February 2014
07:00 – 08:30 AS Women’s Super Combined Downhill
11:00 – 12:00 AS Women’s Super Combined Slalom
Wednesday 12th February 2014
07:00 – 09:00 AS Women’s Downhill
Saturday 15th February 2014
07:00 – 09:00 AS Women’s Super G
Tuesday 18th February 2014
07:00 – 09:00 AS Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1
10:30 – 12:00 AS Women’s Giant Slalom Run 2
Friday 21st February 2014
12:45 – 14:00 AS Women’s Slalom Run 1
14:30 – 15:50 AS Women’s 4x6km Relay
16:15 – 17:15 AS Women’s Slalom Run 2
World famous classical violinist Vanessa-Mae is to compete at Sochi!!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-olympics/25802907
I couldn't quite believe it when I saw this story on John Kerr's Facebook page, but I went to the FIS website, and it is right enough!
Here is her FIS Bio:
http://data.fis-ski.com/dynamic/athlete-biography.html?sector=AL&competitorid=168683&type=result
I had always assumed that her first name was "Vanessa", and her surname was "Mae". But I only found out today that the "Mae" is actually part of a double-barrelled first name ("Vanessa-Mae"), and that her surname is actually Vanakorn.
As the story explains, she realised that she had no hope of being selected for the British team, so she is using her Dad's nationality to compete for Thailand.
And because Thailand doesn't have any other competitors, it has meant that Vanesssa-Mae only had to get the required points to qualify (Along the same lines that the TES is used to qualify in figure skating). And she did... by the skin of her teeth!
The irony is that it looks like the British top skiier, Chemmy Alcott, will probably not get to compete at Sochi.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-olympics/25800077
Chemmy broke her leg in August 2012, and was planning on making her comeback a Cortina d'Ampezzo yesterday. But the competition was cancelled because of bad weather, and the selections need to be made this week.
Personally, I am very annoyed that Chemmy left it to the last minute to make her competitive comeback. Like, she has been back training (with the Norwegian team) for a good while now, and has attended the past few races with the Norwegian coaches.
So, since she was at the race meetings anyway, why did she not enter?! When you have been out of action for a year-and-a-half, what difference is coming back a week or 2 early going to make?!
You can't control the weather. Every meeting has the risk of the weather forcing it to be cancelled hanging over it. So, give yourself a couple of opportunities to make the comeback, rather than restrict it to just the one.
Chemmy's team were very foolish not to take this into consideration, and it has probably now cost her an Olympic appearance.
Good luck to Vanessa-Mae!
CaroLiza_fan
BBC (all times GMT)
Monday 10th February 2014
07:00 – 08:30 AS Women’s Super Combined Downhill
11:00 – 12:00 AS Women’s Super Combined Slalom
Wednesday 12th February 2014
07:00 – 09:00 AS Women’s Downhill
Saturday 15th February 2014
07:00 – 09:00 AS Women’s Super G
Tuesday 18th February 2014
07:00 – 09:00 AS Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1
10:30 – 12:00 AS Women’s Giant Slalom Run 2
Friday 21st February 2014
12:45 – 14:00 AS Women’s Slalom Run 1
14:30 – 15:50 AS Women’s 4x6km Relay
16:15 – 17:15 AS Women’s Slalom Run 2