Ryan Cochran-Siegle Is Part of an Olympic Skiing Dynasty

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Ryan Cochran-Siegle was destined to be a skier. He comes from a family known as the "Skiing Cochrans," a Vermont sporting dynasty that has been a force to be reckoned with in U.S. Skiing since the late 1960s. Cochran-Siegle, 29, is looking to add to his family's legacy at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

In 1961, Ryan's grandparents Mickey, a World War II vet, and Ginny, a schoolteacher, built a small ski area in their backyard in rural Vermont, with the intent of training their four children to learn to race. All four went on to represent the United States in the Winter Olympics—with Ryan's mom, Barbara Ann Cochran, winning gold in slalom at the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.

They became known as the "Skiing Cochrans" in the 1970s, and soon, Cochran's Ski Area became a force in the ski racing world. Six of the Cochran grandchildren—including Ryan Cochran-Siegle—have made the U.S. ski team. His cousin Jimmy competed in the 2006 and 2010 Olympics, finishing as the top American in the slalom in Turin in 2006.

"People have asked me if there’s something in the water," Bob, Ryan's uncle, joked to the New York Times of Cochran's Ski Area. "People think we have some secret. But there was no special criteria for coming here except one. My father said you had to have fun. And my mother made every kid who showed up here feel like a part of the family."

This isn't Cochran-Siegle's first Olympics—he competed in the Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018, placing 11th in the giant slalom race, 14th in the Super-G, and 23rd in downhill. This time, he's hoping for a spot on the podium.

"There was never pressure on us," Cochran-Siegle told the Times. “I never felt any expectations. I wanted to do well, but winning was never the central goal. We were urged to just get better and better."

Unlike most of his Olympic family members, Cochran-Siegle competes in the speed events, the downhill and the super-G. Per Team USA, "It’s not what one might expect from a skier who grew up making his first turns at Cochran’s Ski Area in Richmond, Vermont—a ski area so small that it’s served by only two rope tows and a t-bar. But when [Cochran-Siegle] was young, he famously flew down a trail at Cochran’s and had so much speed that he crashed through the window of the base lodge. Even that accident did not slow him down."

Could Ryan Cochran-Siegle become the second "Skiing Cochran" to win an Olympic medal? He has three races to try—and the first is the men's downhill Saturday, February 5 at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.

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