Violinist to ski at Sochi Olympics

Vanessa-Mae qualifies to compete for Thailand

Internationally renown violinist Vanessa Mae as she performs during her concert in Prague, Czech Republic in 2010.

LONDON — The manager of Vanessa-Mae says the musician will be swapping her violin for skis to compete at the Winter Olympics.

Giles Howard says the classical-pop violinist has qualified for the Thai team at the Sochi games.

The International Ski Federation published rankings today confirming Vanessa-Mae has met the qualifying criteria to compete at Sochi.

The federation’s alpine media coordinator, Ana Jelusic, told Britain’s Press Association news agency that the 35-year-old musician “ticks all the boxes,” having gained the required level of points in at least five slalom or giant slalom races.

Singapore-born, London-raised Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson competes as Vanessa Vanakorn, using the surname of her Thai father.

A child prodigy who played violin from age 5, she shot to fame in 1995 with her debut album “Violin Player.”