Barbara Cochran

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.

  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.