The International Ski Federation (FIS) does not joke about ethics. She suspended Thai violinist Vanessa Mae for four years, found guilty of having manipulated races to get her ticket for the Sochi Winter Games. Real name Vanessa Vanakorn, she participated on January 18 and 19 in FIS races organized for her in Slovenia so that she could have the number of points necessary to start the giant slalom of the 2014 Winter Games. However, the results of the four giants “organized on January 18 and 19 in Krvavec (Slovenia) were manipulated, not reflecting the true performance of the competitors who participated in these events, and in particular the points awarded to Vanessa Vanakorn,” explained the FIS in a press release. The violinist “is banned from FIS races around the world for four years”, specifies the authority. In addition to the Thai sportswoman, four Slovenian officials, including the head of the alpine Vlado Makuc and the director of the January races Borut Hrobat, as well as the FIS technical delegate, the Italian Fabio de Cassan, received bans from FIS races ranging one to two years.
— Published on November 11, 2014
