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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014 SPORTS Vanessa-Mae gives little to Olympics KRASNAYA POLYANA: Don’t give up the day job, down the same snow that the elite skiers carve down ver was just 0.07 seconds. “I expected to be last but, “I think I slightly underestimated how much work Vanessa-Mae. The Sochi Games were good to the diva is just an honor and a privilege,” she said. “So, you you know, at the end of the day the Olympics is a great goes into being an athlete,” she said. She also is fortu- of violin classical pop. She now gets to call herself an know, when I get to even train with some of them for opportunity,” Vanessa-Mae said after her first run. “My nate that her father is from Thailand, which enabled Olympian having survived - the word “compete” isn’t like two runs, sometimes I’m already a little bit like, main purpose for being here was to really have a good her to compete under the Thai flag and with his sur- really applicable - the giant slalom. ‘Ooh, that’s so cool!’ So imagine to be in the same race time, to improve my skiing in a very, very short amount name, Vanakorn. Had she been born Swiss. After gingerly completing both runs, she applied as them.” of time.” In which case, why not just take ski lessons some lipstick, checked her look in a pocket mirror, like other mere mortals? Using the Olympics to EXOTIC NATIONS strapped on a watch from a sponsor, pushed up her BEST OF BEST improve one’s parallel turns cheapens them, mocking Austrian or from any other skiing power, she coat sleeve to make sure it was visible on her wrist, But what do the Olympic Games get in return? the idea that the games are the pinnacle of sport. wouldn’t have made their Olympic teams, because and then went out to bathe in the attention of the From a competitive standpoint, absolutely nothing. Other competitors were plenty supportive of those countries have young kids who ski steep slopes world’s media.She laughed for the microphones. She When Tina Maze hit the slope, you knew that you Vanessa-Mae. “That’s part of the Olympic Games to better and more aggressively than Vanessa-Mae did. “I said how “really cool” it all was. She slipped in how she were watching the best of the best. Bullying the have so many people competing and so (many) dif- was lucky that the Olympics, you know, allow exotic plans to celebrate her Olympic participation by slalom course, aggressively thwacking past the gates, ferent countries,” said Swiss racer Dominique Gisin, nations, for people like me who have day jobs, we can donating “a heap of money” to animal charities. And the Slovenian embodied the Olympic motto - “Faster, who tied for the gold with Maze in downhill and fin- still manage to qualify for the Olympics,” Vanessa-Mae the whole while, a man who followed along at her Higher, Stronger” - as she raced to gold. ished 10th in giant slalom. “Yesterday I saw an athlete said. So here she is, staying in the Olympic village, side - he wouldn’t say who he was - made sure she Top competitors hate to lose. They sulk. They beat from Togo. Yeah, that’s cool, I think. That’s the amazing rubbing shoulders with the best. “It’s been really chill, was holding a branded pair of skis when speaking to themselves up. They cry. They vow they’ll do better part of the Olympics Games, to give all of the people you know? You’re just sharing a table with some guy camera and that the manufacturer’s name was clearly next time. But Vanessa-Mae didn’t seem to care that from all over the world a chance to compete.” Well, who just won gold and some girl who just won gold. I visible. All in all, it looked like a pretty fruitful day for she was last of the 67 finishers, that she was short on yes. But it’s preferable that Olympians at least look like mean they are gods and goddesses.” Vanessa-Mae Inc. And, if you’re Vanessa-Mae, an style and slowest of those who finished in both runs. they’re giving it their all. Vanessa-Mae is entitled to be As for herself, Vanessa-Mae said: “I’m a hobby skier.” absolute hoot. Or that her combined time for both was 50 seconds at the Sochi Games. She took part in European races In which case, stick with the violin. Leave competitive “The Olympics is like the greatest show on Earth slower than Maze’s. That is an eternity in ski racing. The to qualify, making the January deadline only narrow- skiing and the Olympics to those who really take and to just share the same snow, to be able to slide margin between Maze’s gold and Anna Fenninger’s sil- ly, “by my chihuahua’s whisker,” as she put it. them seriously. — AP Bergsma knocks off Kramer in 10,000m SOCHI: Jorrit Bergsma wouldn’t go along with the sto- ryline. This was supposed to be about Sven Kramer’s redemption, the place where the world’s greatest dis- tance skater finally made up for his incredible blunder four year ago. Instead, Kramer was dealt another crushing disappointment. With a stunner of a finishing kick, Bergsma upset his favored countryman to win speedskating Olympic gold in the 10,000 meters yes- terday with the fastest time ever at sea level. “I understand that people really wanted to see Sven win here,” Bergsma said. “But I skate for myself. I came here to win gold. I wasn’t going to give away the gold for Sven’s story.” Kramer gave away a sure gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games with a botched lane change. This MOSCOW: Russian Julia Lipnitskaia waves to journalists upon her arrival in the time, he simply got beat by - almost inevitably at the Sheremetyevo airport, outside Moscow yesterday. — AP Sochi Games - a fellow Dutchman. Bergsma’s time of 12 minutes, 44.45 seconds was Preview less than 3 seconds off Kramer’s world record, set at high altitude in 2007, and shattered the Olympic Russia look to Lipnitskaia record of 12:58.55 by South Korea’s Lee Seung-hoon four years ago. Kramer settled for silver in 12:49.02. The bronze went to 37-year-old Bob de Jong, the old- for third figure skating gold est speedskating medalist in 86 years. “This is really bitter, because I never took this into SOCHI: Teen sensation Julia Lipnitskaia will the Grand Prix series. “No-one can get a account,” Kramer said. “Turns out, I simply was not be looking to lift the deflated spirits of sense of what Yu-Na can bring to the table good enough.” While the order of finish didn’t go as home fans after Yevgeny Plushenko’s shock but she’s still excellent and in excellent expected, the guys on the podium were no surprise at withdrawal from the Olympics in the shape so you can really not count her out,” all. It was another orange sweep, the fourth 1-2-3 fin- SOCHI: Gold medallist Jorrit Bergsma competes in the men’s 10,000-meter speedskating race women’s event starting today. said US champion Gracie Gold. ish for the Netherlands at Adler Arena, its speedskat- at the Adler Arena Skating Center during the 2014 Winter Olympics. — AP More history beckons for the 15-year- The United States, the most successful ing medal haul climbing to 19 out of a possible 27. old who became the youngest female fig- country in women’s figure skating with sev- Bergsma’s last five laps were all under 30 seconds, Bergsma said. “Then I realized he couldn’t hold on to There have only been 10 medal sweeps in all of ure skater in 78 years to win a gold amid en gold, finished off the podium for the a pace Kramer simply couldn’t match skating in the those laps.” On his cool-down lap, Kramer stopped to Olympic speedskating history - four of them produced wild celebrations after their team success first time in 46 years in Vancouver. final pair with Lee. “I was doing 29-second laps and shake hands with his countryman. But he could barely in Sochi by the amazing Dutch. They have crushed the at the Iceberg Skating Palace just over a Gold, Ashley Wagner and 15-year-old was able to hold on to those late in the race,” Bergsma muster a smile on the medal podium and didn’t hang previous record for overall medals at one games (13 week ago. She could become not only the newcomer Polina Edmunds will be bidding said. Kramer had already captured his second straight around long for the victory parade, leaving the arena by the East Germans in 1988) and tied another mark first Russian to win the women’s title but to rectify that. Italy’s Carolina Kostner, a 5,000 gold in Sochi, but he really wanted to make up to Bergsma and De Jong. In recent days, Kramer said on Tuesday with their sixth victory in nine events, also the first individual skater to win two former world champion, is also a challenger for the 10,000 victory that got away in Vancouver. he’s been bothered by problems with his thigh and matching the Soviet Union’s six golds at the Squaw gold medals at the same Olympics.