IOC rule violinist Vanessa-Mae can continue to call herself Olympian despite Sochi controversy

Vanessa-Mae, representing Thailand under her father’s surname Vanakorn, finished 67th out of 67 in the giant slalom at the Games in Russia – but was subsequently banned from the sport for four years after it was discovered that her results to qualify for the event involved abnormalities.

Vanessa-Mae reached the requirements to compete in Sochi thanks to four hurriedly arranged races in Slovenia just days before the competition deadline – but, while the Court of Arbitration for Sport acknowledged “irregularities” in the organisation of the four races in question, it found that there was no clear evidence that she was directly involved and decided to overturn her ban.

Following the ruling from CAS, the IOC decided not to annul her runs from Sochi. The decision means the 37-year-old can continue to call herself an Olympian, and can continue to pursue her stated ambition of qualifying for the 2020 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

"I was so relieved to have completed both runs at the Winter Olympics, even if it was only to claim last place," the musician said.

"I'm over the moon that I'm still an Olympian - it's fantastic news and such a positive start to 2016!"

The BBC reported that the Singapore-born Brit paid in the region of £135,000 to take her case to CAS, after the International Ski Federation (FIS) had initially banned her in March 2015.

She is now expected to return to competitive skiing later in 2016.