OBERHOFEN, Switzerland – The International Ski Federation has banned violinist Vanessa-Mae for four years for taking part in fixed races to qualify for the Sochi Olympics.
FIS says its hearing panel “found to its comfortable satisfaction” that results of four giant slalom races were manipulated in January in Slovenia.
FIS details several rule-breaking incidents that rigged results to help Vanessa-Mae falsely improve her results.
Without the cheating, Vanessa-Mae “would not have achieved the necessary FIS point performance level to be eligible to participate in the Olympic Winter Games.”
In Sochi, the celebrity musician raced for Thailand as Vanessa Vanakorn, using the last name of her Thai father. She finished last of 67 racers in the two-run giant slalom.
FIS also banned five other officials for between one and two years for cheating.
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