Marilyn Cochran Brown (born February 5, 1950) is a former World Cup

alpine ski racer Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing (cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

from the United States. The eldest of four siblings of the "

Skiing Cochrans The Skiing Cochrans are a family of American alpine ski racers from Richmond, Vermont, a dominant force on the U.S. Ski Team in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and again in 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. In 1961, parents Mickey and Ginny Cochran buil ...

" family of Richmond, Vermont, she became the first American to win a discipline championship in the World Cup, triumphing in

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

at age 19 in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. The next year, she won a bronze medal in the

combined Combined may refer to: * Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event ** Super combined (skiing) * Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event * T ...

at the World Championships.

Racing career

Born in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

, Cochran and her younger sister

Barbara Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously as ...

(b. 1951) joined the

U.S. Ski Team The U.S. Ski Team, operating under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and ...

in 1967. She made her World Cup debut at age 18 in March

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, a month after the Winter Olympics, with a pair of top ten finishes at the season's final stop in Aspen, Colorado. Brother Bob (b. 1951) joined the men's "A team" for the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

season and the three siblings competed on the World Cup tour through the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

season. Marilyn was a three-time U.S. national champion during her career. In the

season, she finished runner-up in the final five

races and won the World Cup season title. Cochran was the only American alpine racer with a World Cup season title until

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, when Phil Mahre won the

. She won the bronze medal in the

at the 1970 World Championships in Val Gardena, Italy. Sister Barbara was fourth in that competition, but won a silver in the

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

, where Marilyn was sixth. Cochran won three World Cup races, two in giant slalom and one in slalom, and had 15 podiums and fifty top ten finishes. The first victory came in February

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

close to home, in Quebec at Mont Ste. Anne, with sister Barbara as runner-up. She competed in all three events at the Winter Olympics in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

in Japan, but with disappointing results: 28th in downhill, 20th in giant slalom, and a fall in the first run of the slalom, the race won by her sister. At the World Championships in

in Switzerland, Cochran finished eighth in giant slalom, and retired from international competition after the season.

Post-racing life

After her racing career, Cochran attended the University of Vermont in Burlington and graduated in 1979. She married Chris Brown, an All-American racer at the university and later a professor of mechanical engineering at WPI. Their son Roger Brown, a 2004 graduate of

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

, was also an All-American. He was the 2002 NCAA slalom champion and competed on the U.S. Ski Team. Younger son Douglas Brown was captain of the ski team at St. Lawrence University, and graduated in 2009. Cochran was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1978. Sister Barbara (1976) and brother Bob (2010) are also members of the hall. Cochran also joined her siblings Barbara (2013) and Bob (2014) as members of the

Vermont Sports Hall of Fame The Vermont Sports Hall of Fame is an athletics hall of fame in the U.S. state of Vermont. Above all, induction "is for accomplishments in sports and recreation that generate a great source of pride to the state." Launched as a project in 2011, t ...

in 2014.

World Cup results

Season titles

Season standings

Points were only awarded for top ten finishes (see scoring system).

Race podiums

* 3 wins - (1 GS, 2 SL) * 15 podiums (9 GS, 6 SL)

References

External links

*
Marilyn Cochran
World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation * *
U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame
– Marilyn Cochran – inducted 1978
University of Vermont Athletics Hall of Fame
– Marilyn Cochran Brown – skiing – inducted 1989

- Marilyn Cochran - skiing - inducted 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cochran, Marilyn Alpine skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers of the United States FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions American female alpine skiers Sportspeople from Burlington, Vermont University of Vermont alumni 1950 births Living people 21st-century American women