Star violinist Vanessa-Mae realises her slalom dream
She finishes a distant last after swapping her fiddle for ski poles
Like other Olympians, pop violinist Vanessa-Mae got to live her dream ... just a lot slower than everyone else.
Short on both style and speed, she finished a distant last of the 67 racers who completed the giant slalom. Her time of 3 minutes, 26.97 seconds over two runs was 50.1 seconds slower than the new Olympic champion, Tina Maze of Slovenia.
But she was just thrilled to have taken part.
“The Olympics is like the greatest show on earth and to just share the same snow, to be able to slide down the same snow that the elite skiers carve down is just an honor and a privilege,” Vanessa-Mae said. “So, you know, when I get to even train with some of them for like two runs, sometimes I’m already a little bit like, ‘Ooh, that’s so cool!”’
While the elite skiers raced aggressively, thwacking the gates and leaning into the hill, Vanessa-Mae skied upright for most of the rainy course before crouching into the tuck position for the final gates.
She celebrated in the finish area, raising her arms and ski poles over her head after her first run.
After her second run, she refreshed her lipstick and put on a wristwatch from one of her sponsors to present herself before the world’s media.