British violinist Vanessa Mae swaps the orchestra hall for the Sochi slopes as she prepares to represent Thailand in the giant slalom



Vanessa Mae will compete in the giant slalom event in Sochi

Musician, 35, started training for the Olympics six months ago

She became a citizen of Thailand in 2011 in order to compete for them



Violinist turned Olympic skier Vanessa Mae was today pictured getting to grips with conditions in Sochi after telling of the huge challenges she has overcome to qualify for the Winter Olympics.



The world renowned musician, 35, will go toe to toe with the best in the world in the Giant Slalom which is set to take place on Tuesday next week.

And she looked quite at ease while sizing up the snow on the slopes earlier today as she watched the Alpine Skiing Women's Super Combined Downhill on day three of the Games.



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On the slopes: Vanessa Mae will compete in the Giant Slalom on Tuesday, next week, but got some time on the slopes to get comfortable with the conditions

However, she told a press conference earlier that she held out no hope of getting anywhere near the medals.

Instead she spoke of her pride at simply being in the same competition as some of the sport's greats.

She said: 'I have to say that the greats are here. I'm not here to compete against the best, I'm here to participate with the best. That's the real Olympic spirit and message of this movement.

Miss Mae has been skiing since she was four years of age but only started training for the Olympics six months ago

She added: 'I had this idea a couple of years ago, but the real training started six months ago.



'So for me this is an enormous challenge in such a short amount of time to have reached the qualifying level.'



Getting to grips: Vanessa Mae of Thailand attends the Alpine Skiing Women's Super Combined Downhill on day three of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics She qualified for Sochi after meeting the criteria on her on her last possible chance.

Thailand were able to send one person in the skiing if they met the qualifying standard, and despite her position as the world No 3,16. Miss Mae is British, but is allowed to compete for Thailand because of her father. Her transition from musical prodigy to Olympian has already become one of the stories of the Games so far. She has spoken of how aiming for the Olympics has helped heal a rift with her father which had last 10 years. But despite her amazing achievement, her estranged mother Pamela had not bothered to contact her when she qualified for the competition.

Miss Mae, who will compete as Vanessa Vanakorn following her emotional reunion with her Thai father, Varapong Vanakorn, told the Mail on Sunday that her mother had not encouraged her to ski.

Talent: Mae has been skiing since she was four but only started training for the Olympics six months ago

She recalled: ‘I gave up horse riding as a child because my mother didn’t like me doing anything that was dangerous.

‘It wasn’t a big sacrifice as music was more important to me. I was honestly not rebellious as a child – except when it came to skiing.

‘My mother introduced me to skiing but when the violin became a big part of my life she didn’t want me to doing something she thought could be dangerous.’



Pamela has not spoken to her daughter since she removed her as her manager when Vanessa turned 21.



Passions: Former child prodigy Vanessa Mae has sold millions of copies of her albums but is now indulging her second love of skiing

‘Unfortunately, relationships can be sometimes transient,’ says Miss Mae. ‘I accept that if I wasn’t pushed as a child I wouldn’t have achieved a quarter of things I have achieved until now.'

She became a citizen of Thailand in 2011 to ensure she could compete for her father’s country – and it was through this that the pair became close once more.

‘I didn’t speak to my dad for ten years,’ says Miss Mae. ‘We just grew apart when he went back to Thailand. He was a monk for ten years, but he is now back doing what he does best – management.’

