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Vermont’s Ryan Cochran-Siegle enjoyed a surprise appearance from his mother during ‘Today’ interview
"I was crying, it was just tons of emotion."
Almost 50 years to the day after his mother, Barbara Ann Cochran, won Olympic gold in slalom at the 1972 Sapporo Winter Games, Vermont native Ryan Cochran-Siegle produced one of the best runs of his career to grab a super-G silver in Beijing.
Cochran-Siegle, 29, made an appearance on NBC’s “Today” on Tuesday morning following the race. Midway through the interview, Barbara made a surprise appearance.
Asked what she’d told Ryan in their post-race FaceTime, Barbara acknowledged that it was more about enjoying the moment.
“I don’t remember. I was just so excited. I was just so proud. I was crying, it was just tons of emotion,” Barbara said of the their conversation. “Just so proud, Ryan.”
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“I mean I couldn’t hold it together. I was pretty emotional too,” Ryan said in response. “I mean I think I just wanted to share that moment with them. There weren’t very many words coming out of my mouth that I remember. Just so happy and elated that we were all teary-eyed.”
With events taking place in Beijing, the timing hasn’t always been ideal for Barbara and the rest of Ryan’s family watching in Vermont.
But just as some were starting to go to bed, they were awoken by Barbara’s reaction to her son’s run in the super-G.
“Two late nights in a row. It was really taking its toll on me, so I got into my pajamas,” said Barbara. “Everybody else was in bed [and] had gone to sleep. I was watching on my laptop and then started screaming as he was coming down, like really helping him, [yelling] ‘Go Ryan, go Ryan, go Ryan!'”
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For Ryan, the Olympic silver represents not merely a defining achievement but also the final step in a prolonged comeback effort. In the midst of a career season in 2021, he suffered a “minor cervical fracture” after falling in the downhill event in Kitzbuehel, Austria.
Barbara was asked if she was nervous watching her son get back into racing after the injury.
“Of course,” Barbara admitted. “What I’ve taken to doing now is every time he’s racing I talk to the angels. I say, ‘Ok, Ryan’s racing today, please help him get down safely and healthy. No more accidents, no more injuries.'”
Reflecting on his own story, Cochran-Siegle said he hopes it inspires anyone facing longer odds.
“It’s just about doing your best every single day, regardless of the setbacks that you face,” he said. “I think most situations are overcome-able, and enjoying the process too. It also takes all the support around you too, so never give up on yourself and give up on your dreams. Everything is attainable.”
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