GENEVA - Pop violinist Vanessa-Mae was banned from competitive skiing for four years on Tuesday for taking part in races that were fixed to allow her to qualify for the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Nolan Cromwell Jersey .The findings by the International Ski Federation exposed as a sham what many fans thought was a feel-good celebrity Olympic story.FIS also banned five race officials from Slovenia and Italy for between one and two years for their role in the scandal.Those who have been sanctioned have been sanctioned for good reason, FIS President Gian Franco Kasper told The Associated Press. At first we were laughing when we heard it. But then we realized its quite a serious thing.FIS said its hearing panel found to its comfortable satisfaction that the status of four womens giant slalom races were manipulated in January in Slovenia, a few weeks before the games.FIS detailed several rule-breaking incidents that rigged results to help the then 35-year-old Vanessa-Mae falsely improve her racer status near the OIympic entry deadline.Without the cheating orchestrated by her managers, Vanessa-Mae would not have achieved the necessary FIS point performance level to be eligible to participate in the Olympic Winter Games, the governing body said.In February at the Sochi Games, the celebrity musician who was raised in Britain raced for Thailand as Vanessa Vanakorn, using the last name of her Thai father. She finished last of 67 racers in the two-run giant slalom, more than 50 seconds behind gold medallist Tina Maze of Slovenia.Vanessa-Mae can appeal the rulings to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.But it doesnt make much difference for her, Kasper said. She was racing (the Olympics) probably only once and thats all. But in any case we prevented her from being at the next Olympics.The next Winter Games are in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.FIS said it informed the International Olympic Committee, which can disqualify Vanessa-Mae from the Sochi Olympics.The IOC declined to comment on details of the case until possible appeals are completed.Should the judgment be confirmed the IOC will act on this in the framework of its policy of protecting the clean athletes, with zero tolerance towards the manipulation of results and any related corruption, the Olympic body said in a statement.IOC President Thomas Bach was photographed with Vanessa-Mae in Sochi and later appointed her to a working group meeting helping shape future policy for the Olympic movement.FIS said the scam involved falsely inflating the quality of four qualifying races to artificially boost Vanessa-Maes standing as a potential Olympian.Race rigging included inventing times for skiers who did not race and faking times for lower-quality skiers who did finish.A previously retired competitor with the best FIS points in the competition took part for the sole purpose of lowering the penalty to the benefit the participants in the races, FIS said.Race officials also broke rules by not changing the course design between the first and second runs, and allowing skiers to continue in poor weather which required abandonment.The competitions were organized at the request of the management of Vanessa Vanankorn, through the Thai Olympic Committee in its capacity as the FIS member National Ski Association, skiings governing body said.It is unclear if Thai Olympic officials were involved in the scam, or if they will face IOC sanctions.First you would have to figure out if the Thai Olympic Committee was really involved, and we have some doubts, said Kasper, who is an IOC member.The scandal was made public in July, several weeks after the IOC appointed Vanessa-Mae to an advisory group on cultural policy. The Slovenian ski federation punished officials and sent a report to FIS.The FIS ruling council will decide on annulling the fixed races at a meeting next Tuesday.___AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Rome contributed to this report. Eric Dickerson Jersey . Stevenson scored the first three goals of the game in the first period for Regina (35-22-6), which has won eight of its last 10 games. Patrick DAmico added two for the Pats, Braden Christoffer had a single and Morgan Klimchuk chipped in a goal and four assists. Marcus Peters Jersey . - Aaron Rodgers makes tough throws that can leave fans of the Green Bay Packers speechless. http://www.officiallosangelesramsfootball.com/authentic-joseph-noteboom-jersey-womens . -- Michael Phelps is 0 for 1 in his comeback to the pool. BAGNERES-DE-LUCHON, France -- Riding in his 10th Tour de France, three-time world champion Michael Rogers of Australia finally got his first stage victory in cyclings greatest race on Tuesday by leading a breakaway group to a downhill finish as the pack entered the Pyrenees. Italys Vincenzo Nibali, finishing about 8 1/2 minutes back, reined in his top challengers and retained the yellow jersey after Stage 16, the longest stage of this years race and the first of three days in the mountains on Frances border with Spain. Behind the Italian, the contest for podium places was shaken up: Thibaut Pinot of France rose to third in the standings, while compatriot Romain Bardet dropped to fifth. Tejay van Garderen of the United States lost more than 3 1/2 minutes, slipping from fifth to sixth and seeing his podium hopes dealt a serious blow. Rogers took a bow as he crossed the line alone after the 237.5-kilometre (147-mile) leg from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon, which featured a tough climb up the mountain pass of Port de Bales. "Every cyclists dream is to win a stage at the Tour de France," said Rogers, who finished nine seconds ahead of Frances Thomas Voeckler -- who had won two previous Tour stages at Bagneres-de-Luchon in 2010 and 2012. "I cant describe the joy I felt in the last 500 metres ... I hope I dont have to wait another 10 years to experience it again." Rogers came close not to riding on this Tour for the Tinkoff-Saxo Bank team. In a ruling announced in April, the International Cycling Union accepted that meat Rogers ate in China last year probably caused his positive doping test at the Japan Cup shortly afterward. Rogers, a crucial teammate of two-time Tour champion Alberto Contador, convinced the UCI that he hadnt intended to cheat, and said the episode was "a very difficult time" for his family. Following the UCI ruling, Rogers said he came back with "a different outlook on life." "It was certainly a lesson in life for me," he added. Mark Barron Jersey. "Sometimes you need a lesson in life to see the silver lining in the cloud." Rogers said he might not have had the opportunity to win a stage if Contador -- his team leader, who crashed out in Stage 10 -- were still racing because his job would have been more of a support rider. Now that the Spaniard is out, the team came up with a Plan B: To try for stage wins. "I can be grateful, but Im also very heartbroken that Albertos not here," Rogers said. As the day began, a breakaway group of 21 riders came together over the first two hours and stuck together for much of the day, chiseling out a lead of more than 12 minutes. But their unity began to disintegrate along the 12-kilometre Port de Bales climb, which is ranked Hors Categorie because the ascent is so tough that its considered beyond classification. In its steepest patch, the gradient reached 11 per cent. Rogers was in a bunch of five riders that came together in the final descent, and he stepped on the accelerator with less than 5 kilometres (3.2 miles) left. Before the stage, the Lampre-Merida team said world champion Rui Costa of Portugal would not start due to pneumonia. The Portuguese rider had been in 13th place, about 13 minutes behind Nibali. After Tuesdays ride, Nibali leads second-place Alejandro Valverde of Spain by 4 minutes, 37 seconds, and Pinot is 5:06 back. French veteran Jean-Christophe Peraud is fourth, at 6:08, and Bardet is 6:40 behind. Van Garderen, while only losing a notch in the standings, is 9:25 behind the race leader. Stage 16 was just an appetizer for the Pyrenees, with uphill finishes to follow on Wednesday and Thursday. Aside from a penultimate stage time trial, Stage 17 starting in Saint-Gaudens will be the shortest this year at 124.5 kilometres (77 miles). It features three hard Category 1 climbs, and an ascent to the Saint-Lary Pla dAdet ski station. The three-week race ends Sunday on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '