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Barbara Cochran

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Barbara Cochran
Cochran at the 1972 Olympics
Personal information
Born (1951-01-04) January 4, 1951 (age 73)
Claremont, New Hampshire
OccupationAlpine skier
Height5 ft 1 in (155 cm)
Skiing career
DisciplinesSlalom, giant slalom
World Cup debutMarch 1968 (age 17)
RetiredMarch 1974 (age 23)
Websitesportssuccesscoaching.com
Olympics
Teams1 – (1972)
Medals1 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams3 – (1970, 1972, 1974)
      includes Olympics
Medals2 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons6 – (19691974)
Wins3 – (2 SL, 1 GS)
Podiums18 – (11 SL, 7 GS)
Overall titles0 – (5th in 1970)
Discipline titles0 – (2nd in SL, 1970)
Medal record
Women's alpine skiing
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1972 Sapporo Slalom
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1970 Val Gardena Slalom

Barbara Ann Cochran (born January 4, 1951) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from the United States.[1]

Born in Claremont, New Hampshire, Cochran was the second of four siblings of the famous "Skiing Cochrans" family of Richmond, Vermont, which has operated a small ski area in their backyard since 1961. Her father, Gordon "Mickey" Cochran, was a longtime coach, coaching youngsters of the Smuggler's Notch Ski Club, the University of Vermont Ski Team, and the U.S. Ski Team. The family has placed several generations of athletes on the U.S. Ski Team: three-time national champion sister Marilyn, Barbara Ann, nine-time national champion brother Bob, and two-time national champion sister Lindy. The family's next generation includes niece Jessica Kelley, nephews Jimmy Cochran, Roger Brown, Tim Kelley, Robby Kelley, and son, Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who won the silver medal in Men's Super-G in the 2022 Olympics.

After retiring from competitions, Cochran graduated from college in Vermont, married Ron Williams, and published her book Skiing for Women. She eventually became a writer for The Washington Post.[1]

Cochran now lives in her home in Starksboro, working hard on her own business, Golden Opportunities in Sports, Business, and Life, which teaches people how to handle the pressures of competition, work, academics, and any other obstacles that life throws at you. She is also working on a book that should soon be published. She also works at Cochran's Ski Area in Richmond, which is situated in the "back yard" of her childhood home. Cochran was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1976, later joined by siblings Marilyn (1978) and Bob (2010). In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Cochran's name and picture.[2] Cochran was also inducted into the then-recently established Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Career highlights

Cochran on a stamp of Ajman

World Cup results

Season standings

Season Age Overall Slalom Giant
slalom
Super G Downhill Combined
1968 17 36 22 not
run
not
run
1969 18 18 9 26
1970 19 5 2 4
1971 20 8 3 12
1972 21 12 6 18
1973 22 21 10 23
1974 23 14 7 11
Points were only awarded for top ten finishes (see scoring system).

Race podiums

  • 3 wins – (2 SL, 1 GS)
  • 18 podiums – (11 SL, 7 GS)
Season Date Location Discipline Place
1970 10 Dec 1969 France Val d'Isere, France Giant slalom 2nd
12 Dec 1969 Slalom 2nd
19 Dec 1969 Austria Lienz, Austria Giant slalom 3rd
4 Jan 1970 West Germany Oberstaufen, West Germany Giant slalom 3rd
17 Jan 1970 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Maribor, Yugoslavia Giant slalom 3rd
18 Jan 1970 Slalom 1st
13 Feb 1970 Italy Val Gardena, Italy(W.Ch.) Slalom 2nd
22 Feb 1970 United States Jackson Hole, WY, USA Slalom 2nd
27 Feb 1970 Canada Vancouver, BC, Canada Giant slalom 2nd
1971 4 Jan 1971 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Maribor, Yugoslavia Slalom 3rd
29 Jan 1971 France St. Gervais, France Slalom 2nd
13 Feb 1971 Canada Mt. Ste. Anne, QC, Canada Slalom 2nd
24 Feb 1971 United States Heavenly Valley, CA, USA Slalom 1st
26 Feb 1971 Giant slalom 1st
1972 19 Jan 1972 Switzerland Grindelwald, Switzerland Slalom 3rd
Japan 1972 Winter Olympics
18 Feb 1972 Canada Banff, Alberta, Canada Slalom 2nd
1973 13 Mar 1973 Japan Naeba, Japan Slalom 3rd
1974 9 Jan 1974 France Les Gets, France Giant slalom 2nd

World Championship results (Val Gardena, Italy) were included in the World Cup standings in 1970.

Olympic results

  Year    Age   Slalom  Giant
 slalom 
Super-G Downhill Combined
1972 21 1 11 not run not run

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Barbara Cochran". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
  2. ^ Wulf, Steve (2015-03-23). "Supersisters: Original Roster". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  3. ^ Ski-db.com – results – Barbara Cochran – accessed 2010-03-11
  4. ^ FIS-ski.com – top ten results – Barbara Cochran – accessed 2010-03-11