BEIJING (AP) 鈥� For members of Vermont鈥檚 鈥淪kiing Cochrans鈥� clan, competing in an Olympics is a right of passage. A family tradition.
First there were siblings Marilyn, Bobby and Barbara Ann at the 1972 Sapporo Games, fulfilling a plan hatched by their parents, Mickey and Ginny Cochran, in the backyard ski area.
Then younger sister Lindy raced at the Innsbruck Games in 1976, grandson Jimmy was on the U.S. Ski Team in 2006 and 2010 and now Ryan Cochran-Siegle is at his second Olympics.
Fifty years after his mom, Barbara Ann, won the gold in slalom, Cochran-Siegle is contending for a medal in Sunday's men鈥檚 downhill 鈥� the opening event on the Alpine skiing program of the Beijing Games.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always cool when I go back home just talking about what it鈥檚 like and having that little sharing session,鈥� Cochran-Siegle said.
So how was it growing up the son of an Olympic champion?
鈥淪he鈥檚 still just my mom,鈥� Cochran-Siegle said. 鈥淢ost of our conversations are pretty normal.鈥�
That鈥檚 because modesty is also a Cochran tradition.
In a recent video interview, Barbara Ann said she didn鈥檛 even realize that this year marks the 50th anniversary of her victory until a reporter brought it up.
鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 even thought about that,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long time.鈥�
She hasn鈥檛, however, forgotten what happened on Feb. 11, 1972.
鈥淚t was much harder for me to get up on the podium than it was to actually race,鈥� Barbara Ann said. 鈥淚 really enjoyed the racing. But I didn鈥檛 like all the attention that went along with it. I was really, really shy.鈥�
Competitiveness was never an issue for Barbara Ann, though.
鈥淭wo years before I had come in second at the world championships and I saw the French flag being raised the highest and I didn鈥檛 like that,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淪o that was kind of like a seed that got planted for me that I wanted to win.鈥�
Win she did 鈥� finishing ahead of two French women in Sapporo.
鈥淚t was close. I won the first run by three hundredths and lost the second run by one hundredth and overall won by two hundredths,鈥� Barbara Ann said.
Sunday鈥檚 race could be a close one, too.
On a completely new course with perfectly packed man-made snow that should enable skiers to attack from top to bottom, the difference between winning and missing out on the medals could be a matter of miniscule margins.
For Cochran-Siegle, just being at the Beijing Games is an achievement after he was the victim of a horrifying crash on the feared Streif course in Kitzb眉hel, Austria, a year ago. A fracture of the seventh cervical vertebra of his spine meant that he didn鈥檛 get back on skis until May and didn鈥檛 resume full training until August. Then he made the risky decision to switch ski brands.
A fourth-place result in a super-G in Bormio, Italy, in December marked a return to form in a race where he had posted his first World Cup victory a year earlier in what was a breakout season 鈥� until his injury.
Also in December 2020, Cochran-Siegle finished second in a downhill in Val Gardena, exactly a half-century after his mom won a silver medal in the world championships at the Italian resort.
Perhaps concerned with the weight of family history, Barbara Ann wrote a letter to her son before he competed in the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, telling him that 鈥渕edals are really, really nice but it鈥檚 not all about the results.鈥�
鈥淓njoy the time that you鈥檙e there and be proud of the fact that you鈥檙e representing the U.S,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淎nd then you just go and you do your best.鈥�
In Pyeongchang, Cochran-Siegle's best finish was 11th in giant slalom.
鈥淚t will be a different experience this Olympics for him ... He knows he鈥檚 one of the top Americans, if not the top guy,鈥� Barbara Ann said. 鈥淏ut definitely there鈥檚 some potential on the U.S. men鈥檚 team.鈥�
In Val Gardena this season, Bryce Bennett won the downhill for his first career World Cup victory. That came weeks after Travis Ganong, another American, took third in a super-G in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
Strong winds forced the of the third and final downhill training session on Saturday after only three racers had come down. Wind will also likely be a factor on race day.
鈥淚鈥檓 putting it down tomorrow,鈥� said the 6-foot-7 Bennett, who is rooming with Cochran-Siegle in the Athletes鈥� Village. 鈥淲e鈥檙e pretty opposite. He鈥檚 Vermont, I鈥檓 from California, but we actually get along really well.鈥�
Barbara Ann described her son as 鈥渁 perfectionist.鈥�
鈥淗e studies the videos a lot and he really thinks about what it is that he鈥檚 trying to do and stuff,鈥� she said, warning that he sometimes risks taking it 鈥渢oo far.鈥�
Mom should know 鈥� because she鈥檚 also a mental coach for athletes. Although she doesn鈥檛 offer any coaching to Ryan or other family members.
鈥淭hey see me as mom,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want to see me as a mental coach.鈥�
At 71, Barbara Ann still skis. But she plans to retire from her main job this year as director of the ski school at Cochran鈥檚 ski area.
Who knows, maybe by the time she retires there will be another Olympic medalist in the family.
___
More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
___
Andrew Dampf is at https://twitter.com/AndrewDampf
Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press
