ELKINS, W.Va. – West Virginia was represented at the Beijing Olympic Games, not through an athlete, but through a coach.
Last week, U.S. Alpine Speed skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle secured a silver medal in the men’s super-G. Cochran-Siegle followed in his mother’s footsteps as he won the event exactly 50 years after she did at the Olympic games in 1972 in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first U.S. Alpine Olympic medal earned since 2014, making the Cochran story even more heartwarming.
But for north central West Virginia, the most inspiring part of the story might be that one of Cochran-Siegle’s coaches is from Tucker County, West Virginia.
Canaan Pollock is an assistant men’s trainer in World Cup Speed for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team. Pollock grew up in Tucker County, graduated from Tucker County High School, participated in Upward Bound at Davis and Elkins College and then went on to graduate from D&E in 2005.
Skiing is a huge part of tourism in the mountains of West Virginia in Tucker County. Pollock was also a ski athlete for D&E during his time there.
According to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard website, Pollock is a fairly new addition to the Team USA coaching staff and started the position in 2021. Before that, he was coaching for a regional team in Switzerland.
The Davis & Elkins College and D&E Upward Bound Facebook pages have posted photos congratulating Pollock on his team’s success.
Check back later this week for an exclusive 12 News interview with Canaan Pollock to hear about his journey from West Virginia to Beijing.
(Courtesy: Canaan Pollock) 
(Courtesy: Canaan Pollock)
You can keep up with news on Team USA in Beijing here on WBOY.com.
