Making tracks
Three sporting musicians Music and sport don’t always go together – particularly if you’re trying to avoid injuring those precious hands and fingers. But a small group of leading musicians can also count themselves as very fine athletes.
Multi-million-selling violinist Vanessa-mae became a Winter Olympian at the age of 35, having skied since the age of four. She competed for Thailand in the women’s giant slalom at Sochi 2014 under the name Vanessa Vanakorn – but finished last of the 67 competitors who made it to the end of the course.
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Chi-chi Nwanoku was on track to become an Olympic sprinter before a knee injury prompted her to take up the double bass. ‘I was doing 11.8 seconds for the 100 metres. And I was 17 then, so I was definitely heading for the Montreal Olympics [in 1976],’ she explains.
Then there’s double bassist Leon Bosch who, shortly before his 50th birthday, began running half marathons, then marathons and finally ultramarathons. In 2017, at 56, he completed the 86-mile twoday Ridgeway Challenge in 21 hours and 34 minutes, winning a silver medal.