Vanessa-Mae’s Sochi entry ‘was a fiddle’

Four Slovenian ski officials were suspended yesterday for allegedly rigging the results of pop violinist Vanessa-Mae to help her qualify for the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Competing in Sochi for Thailand as Vanessa Vanakorn, using the surname of her Thai father, she finished a distant last among the 67 racers who completed the two runs in the Olympic giant slalom.

To earn enough points to be eligible for the games in February, she had to compete in official races in Sweden, Norway, Slovenia and Switzerland.

The Slovenian Ski Association said yesterday it found evidence indicating that the races it hosted in January were “fixed at the behest of Thai ski officials to meet her qualifying criteria for Sochi.”

The Slovenian association president, Jurij Zurej, said the suspected irregularities included falsification of times and rankings.

Gian Franco Kasper, the president of FIS, said he was “disappointed” but that no action could be taken until the Slovenian association completes its inquiry, adding: “We have told the Slovenian ski federation that for the time being they should go into the details and find out what their own people did and determine domestic sanctions. Then we will decide what we have to do on our side. ... We have no proof for the time being.”