Apparently it wasn’t enough for Vannesa-Mae to be a world-renowned violinist; now she hopes to add Olympian to her list of career accomplishments.
Mae, likely the world’s only techno-pop-violinist-slash-alpine-skier, is aiming to be only the second Thai athlete to compete in any Winter Games. She needs to ski in five internationally recognized events in order to qualify for the giant slalom and/or slalom events at the Sochi Games next year.
“People are surprised when they see me skiing – a classical violinist, Oriental, who has lived in the city all her life,” Mae told Reuters. “But it has been my dream to be a ski bum since I was 14…
“I wanted to compete for Thailand because there is a part of me which I have never celebrated – being Thai. My father, like most Thais, has never skied but he’s really excited about me doing this.”
She’s currently training in Zermatt, Switzerland and plans to enter her first event by April.
“Of course there is a risk that I could break something but life is short and you have to go for it. Just to qualify for the Olympics in my hobby would be a dream come true for me.”
Might not want to refer to it as a “hobby” when you’re going up against Lindsey Vonn and Tina Maze.
