Shiffrin, Cochran-Siegle among local stars seeking Olympic Alpine glory

Ryan Cochran-Siegle is a top medal hope for Team USA at the Beijing Games. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

The 2022 Winter Olympics begin Friday in Beijing, with dozens of New Englanders hoping to grab gold in their respective sports.

Here’s a look at four skiers with Vermont ties on the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team who will be competing in Alpine events, as well as their Instagram handles in order to follow their journeys on social media.

World Cup champ Mikaela Shiffrin, 26, needs no introduction. The product of Burke Mountain Academy is having another stellar season on the slopes, leading the overall World Cup standings as she prepares for Beijing.

Shiffrin looks to add to an Olympic collection that already includes two gold medals and a bronze. — @mikaelashiffrin

Nina O’Brien, 23, also trained at Burke Mountain Academy. A native of San Francisco, O’Brien studied at Dartmouth College. She had her best season in 2020-21, grabbing a career-best ninth in slalom, and a top-10 in the giant slalom at World Championships. She ended up ranked 15th in giant slalom on the World Cup start list. This is her first selection to the Olympic team.  — @nina_obrien

Paula Moltzan, 27, was only the fifth University of Vermont female to win the NCAA slalom title, and the first freshman to accomplish the task since 1986. She is currently ranked 19th in World Cup slalom standings as she prepares for her first Olympics.  — @paulamoltzan

Twenty-nine-year-old Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who had somewhat of a breakout season in 2020-21, is the son of 1972 Olympic slalom gold medalist Barbara Ann Cochran. He, of course, trained at Cochran’s Ski Area in Vermont. A member of the U.S. Ski Team since 2011, he already has been to one Olympics (the highest he finished was 11th in giant slalom in 2018 at PyeongChang). —  @rc.s

Fully recovered from injury, Ryan Cochran-Siegle looks to add to family’s Olympic legacy