Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
competed at the
2014 Winter Olympics
, ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'')
, nations = 88
, events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, athletes = 2,873
, opening = 7 February 2014
, closing = 23 February 2014
, opened_by = President Vladimir Putin
, cauldron =
, stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
in
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
, Russia from 7 to 23 February 2014. The Thai team consisted of two athletes,
Vanessa Vanakorn and
Kanes Sucharitakul, both competing in
alpine skiing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
. This was Thailand's third appearance at a
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...
, and their first since
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, having missed the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
in
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, Canada.
Background
Thailand first joined Olympic competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and have participated in every Summer Olympics since, except the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics.
Their first appearance in the Winter Olympic Games came at the
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
.
Thailand participated in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, but missed the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
, making Sochi their third Winter Olympics participation.
The only winter sport Thailand had previously competed in was
cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
. The Thai team to Sochi consisted of two athletes,
Vanessa Vanakorn and
Kanes Sucharitakul, both competing in
alpine skiing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
.
Sucharitakul was selected as the flag bearer for both the
opening ceremony
An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event. and
closing ceremony
An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event. .
Alpine skiing
![Vanessa-Mae](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Vanessa-Mae.jpg)
According to the final quota allocation released on January 20, 2014, Thailand had two athletes (one male and one female) in qualification position.
Thailand had two male athletes that met the standard, and chose to send the one that was born in Thailand and had qualified for more events. Kanes Sucharitakul was 21 years old at the time of the Sochi Olympics.
On 19 February Sucharitakul participated in the
giant slalom
Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G.
Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...
, he competed his runs in 1 minute and 37.82 seconds and 1 minute and 37.24 seconds. His total time of 3 minutes and 15 seconds put him in 65th position, out of 72 athletes who completed the race. On 22 February he did not complete the first run of the
slalom
To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to:
Sports
;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding
* Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline
* Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline
* Super-G ...
race.
Vanessa Vanakorn, a classical
violinist
The following lists of violinists are available:
* List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards
* List of contemporary classical violinists, notable contemporary classical violinists
* List of violinist/composers, ...
who performs under the name Vanessa-Mae, and whose father is from Thailand, also competed for the country under her father's last name. She was 35 years old at the time of these Games.
Vanakorn qualified on the last day of qualification by her results in a series of four races in
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
. The
International Ski Federation (FIS) subsequently determined that those races were rigged to give her the number of FIS points necessary to be able to take part in Sochi, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the finding of the FIS, in part because it could not find to the CAS' satisfaction "evidence of any manipulation by Vanessa Vanakorn herself". The International Olympic Committee (IOC) subsequently confirmed Vanessa Vanakorn's Olympic result and on 24 February 2016, the FIS issued a public apology to Vanessa Vanakorn and made an "appropriate payment" to her for damages. On 18 February, Vanakorn competed in her only race, the
giant slalom
Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G.
Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...
. She posted run times of 1 minute and 44.86 seconds and 1 minute and 42.11 seconds. Her combined time of 3 minutes and 26.97 seconds saw her finish in 67th position, last among the finishers, although 22 other athletes failed to complete the race. Her time was over 50 seconds behind the winner
Tina Maze
Tina Maze (; born 2 May 1983) is a retired Slovenian World Cup alpine ski racer.
Career
Maze is the most successful Slovenian ski racer in history with a career that culminated with two gold medals at the 2014 Winter Olympics. She was awarded t ...
of
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
.
See also
*
Thailand at the 2014 Asian Games
*
Thailand at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics
Thailand competed at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, in Nanjing, China from 16 August to 28 August 2014.
Medalists
Athletics
Thailand qualified seven athletes.
Qualification Legend: Q=Final A (medal); qB=Final B (non-medal); qC=Final C (non-m ...
References
{{country at games navbox, Thailand, Olympics
Nations at the 2014 Winter Olympics
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
2014 in Thai sport