1972 Olympian Barbara Cochran on Son Ryan's Success in Beijing Games: 'Knew He Could Do It'

Like mother, like son!

Former Olympic medalist Barbara Ann Cochran proudly cheered for her son Ryan Cochran-Siegle on Tuesday as heearned a silver medalin the men’s super-G race at the Beijing Olympics.

Last January, Cochran-Siegle was severely injured when hecrashed during a World Cup racein Austria. He underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his neck nearly a year to the day of his silver medal-winning performance on Tuesday.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle.Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Both mother and son were elated with Cochran-Siegle’s second-place finish. Cochran admittedly was in tears upon learning of her son’s victory.

“He couldn’t hear me but when he got the medal and then when he got flowers, I was saying to him, you know, over the air, ‘Ryan, you make sure you bring home those flowers!’ I want to see the flowers too!” she said with a chuckle.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle.Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

“I was nervous. I was excited. I was trembling. I was crying. It was just like everything all packed in together,” she explained. “And I think he was kind of the same way too. I think it was just an amazing performance that he did. And so, so proud of him.”

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Ryan Cochran-Siegle.Alain Grosclaude/Agence Zoom/Getty Images

“So that was one thing that I was hoping that he would learn, which he has learned,” she continued. “And that it takes a lot of nitpicking, that you have to pay attention to the details. So those are some of the things that I hope that I’ve been able to pass on to him.”

As for the timing of her son’s win, Cochran is still in awe.

“To write a story about it, you’d go, ‘Oh no, this is not real. This is not realistic. This would never happen.’ But it did!” she exclaimed, calling it all “pretty exciting.”

source: people.com