Team USA’s Cochran-Siegle wins a surprising super-G silver
It took 50 years, but the Cochran family earned another Olympic medal.
Ryan Cochran-Siegle, the son of
1972 gold medalist Barbara Cochran, shocked his way to second place in the super-G on Monday night.
Cochran-Siegle’s time of 1:19.98 down the slopes — passing through wide gates in an event that combines speed and technical ability — was four-hundredths of a second behind Austria’s Matthias Mayer, who became the first man to win an Alpine skiing gold in three straight Olympics.
“What’s up Vermont? I hope it holds!” the 29-year-old said on the NBC broadcast before other racers had finished competing.
The Vermont native’s best finish in Pyeongchang was 11th in the giant slalom, and not many would have guessed CochranSiegle would be the first American to medal in men’s downhill in eight years.
His mom might have.
“I totally believed in him. I knew that he was capable of doing it,” Barbara said on NBC. “You never know on a particular day whether or not it’s going to happen. I’m just so proud.”
His run was near perfect and had positioned him for gold before Mayer knocked him off. Cochran-Siegle crossed the line, smiled and spread his arms upon glancing at the time on the clock. Fifty years later, a Cochran would be on the podium again.
In January 2021, Cochran-Siegle — always seeking more speed — went too hard and crashed in the Kitzbuehel (Austria) downhill, breaking his neck. He returned to Vermont for surgery to fuse vertebrae.
He was back on the slopes by May. The following February, he is an Olympic medalist.
“I think 365 days ago, I was walking out of a bed from neck surgery, so it’s special,” he said on the telecast. “As an athlete you’re always charging and always trying to get better and use it as fuel and just never giving up on yourself.”
Horrific crash fractures O’Brien’s leg
U.S. skier Nina O’Brien saw her chances of
medaling in the giant slalom end in frightening fashion.
O’Brien’s second run at the ended when she crashed near the finish line, to the horror of her competitors. O’Brien lost control after she clipped one of the final two gates, sending her skis and poles flying. The U.S. ski team said O’Brien sustained a compound fracture of her left tibia and fibula, and was taken to a hospital in Yanqing for “an initial stabilization procedure” and the team said she will return to the U.S. for further evaluation and care.
Ziwei takes controversial gold
Ren Ziwei of China survived a controversial finish to win the men’s 1,000 meters in short track speedskating. Liu Shaolin Sandor of Hungary crossed the line first, but was penalized twice and earned a yellow card. That elevated Ren, who crossed second, to the gold medal. Li Wenlong of China earned silver. Liu Shaoang of Hungary, the brother of Liu, took bronze.
Fontana adds another
Arianna Fontana burnished her legacy as short track’s most decorated skater with her second Olympic medal in Beijing. Dutch world champion Suzanne Schulting took silver and Kim Boutin of Canada earned bronze.
In the 500, Americans Kristen Santos of Fairfield, Conn., and Maame Biney were knocked out of the competition. Santos was penalized in her quarterfinal for a lane change that caused contact. Biney didn’t finish high enough in her race to move on to the semifinals.