WEBVTT
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Check Podcasts.
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Hello, and welcome to Mike Check. My name is Paul Haysim.
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I do play the bumbling host around here, and today
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we are talking Olympics, more specifically Olympic success. Our guest
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is one of the best swimmers to ever do it
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for Canada. He's from right here in Victoria. Ryan Cochran.
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Three time Olympian, winning a bronze and silver in the
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fifteen hundred meter freestyle, three time gold medalists at the
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Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a four time Commonwealth Games champion,
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He's got six World Championship medals. He's a two time
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gold medal winner at the Pan American Game. Is going
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to take a breath here hes. He was named Canadian
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Male Swimmer of the Year eight times, recently got inducted
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into the BC Sports Hall of Fame and now retired.
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He's selling real estate around Victoria. Felt like I just
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swam a fifteen.
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Hundred meter freestyle there. I swear it's usually a little
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harder than Matt. Yeah.
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Ryan Cochrane, Welcome to Mike Jack, sir.
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Good to be here.
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When people ask you, they're like, oh, so you were
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a swimmer and Olympia. What do you tell them because
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you can't rattle off all these stats, right.
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It's been really interesting kind of going back into the
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public sphere with my job nowadays. You just make those
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connections with people and it's so special when they're like,
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I watched you, you know, I saw you throughout your career.
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But I think in reality, it's that Olympian you know title,
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that Olympia people really click with and it's what I mean,
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that's what I dreamed about when I was young, and
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so I can see why that just especially around the Olympics,
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really picks back up.
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You say you dreamed about it when you were young.
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In grade four, I believe you were asked what you
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want to be when you grow up. You said, do
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you remember that.
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Moment'd like very specifically, And the funniest thing is I
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probably thought that was a full time job forever at
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that age, because people seem so old when they went
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to the Olympics, and little did you realize that you're
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a teenager when you're doing it. But yeah, it's like
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that was my goal. And I always like to tell
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that story because I was so bad at everything that
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I did at that point, and but I just you know,
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you learn the hustle of it and you learn how
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to have that dream.
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And was it swimming specific back then or just Olympians.
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I had started swimming at that point, but I think
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I just I didn't know what sport I was good at.
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I was bad at swimming at that point. So I
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just like, it's funny that as a kid, that's what
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you like really wanted to do when you onto exactly yeah,
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and then to think, you know, obviously how far my
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career took me and my family and my teammates, and
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but you never would have known that from that grade four.
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You said you were bad at athletics, and you're you
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have a twin brother, and your twin brother was really
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quite athletic, wasn't he?
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Yeah? Absolutely, Like he was always a standout athlete. He
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was always the one picked first. The only reason I
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was on the better teams is because we were twins
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and they didn't want to split us up. But I
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just you know, talking to parents, and you know, every
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parent wants their kid to be, you know, a standout
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athlete or you know, maybe whether they don't say it,
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but you want your kids to have success. And I
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think what brought me success was actually just not having
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that at a young age. You have to learn how
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to fumble your way through that and learn those long
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term goals and how to really focus on that when
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it's not happening right away. And I think that that's
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what creates, you know, good adults. You know, if kids
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can learn that at a young age, whether they get
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the success in sport or not, it doesn't really matter.
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It's you know, you're teaching those lessons of tenacity that
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really carry with you forever.
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Who pushed you towards swimming at that point because you
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were trying a variety of spores. What was it about
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swimming that you're like, okay, I might be okay at this.
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I was fortunate that nobody pushed me. It was like
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I tried a summer camp and I just loved it
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and just the environment. I mean, at that point, it
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was we got to swim all day and then go
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to Elk Lake and swim all afternoon, and I just
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I was hooked right at the beginning. But I was, yeah,
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I was lucky. My parents just said, like, just do something,
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we don't care what it is, just get out of
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this house exactly, like there's too many kids here. But
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at the end of the day, it's it's funny because
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I don't think they knew it was going to be
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four forty five am mornings. I don't think they knew
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expensive it was going to be, how much we're going
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to travel. But yeah, it was just like a total
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love for the environment and made such good friends so early.
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And that comes. I mean, all that travel, all those
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early mornings, that comes with success. So at what point
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did you realize, Okay, I'm pretty good at this right,
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because that is a there has to be a moment
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along any athleteses path, right.
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I would say like success started coming like eleven twelve
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years old, aga, just you know, you finally start to
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see things click a little bit. That's when I started
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working with my long term coach and I think like
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he saw the potential there and that really help kind
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of speed things along. But yeah, I mean I was
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good at a different stroke at that age, and you know,
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you just start to see some success and I think
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you it's such a motivator as soon as you start
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to see that.
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And is that the late Randy Bennett you're talking about.
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It was sadly passed away from cancer in twenty fifteen,
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But what did he really pull out of you and
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inspire in you in that moment?
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You know, we fought all the time, Like I mean,
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I think, like my call it spitefulness for lack of
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a better term, but like that kind of drive has
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a good and a bad side to it. But I
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think like we used to spar on everything, and I
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used to question him on everything and he hated that.
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But over that kind of ten twelve fifteen year career,
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it's like that's how you build that trust. And I
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think he almost saw like he came in when I
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started to see some success, but also he saw that
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that attitude and drive to probably rein it in. But
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I think that's that type of drive a coach needs
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to see and needs to be able to, you know,
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help foster for the entire career.
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And does that make you better when he's pushing you
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on areas that you think that you don't need to
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be pushed on necessarily, I.
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Think that's a coach's job. It's funny though, because I'm
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of the attitude of like I need to be pushed
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and I'm a self motivator now, but not all athletes
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need that, so it as an adult. Super interesting to think, like,
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as a coach, you need to be able to see
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what each athlete needs. And I always think like I
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would be a tyrant of a coach because that's just
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what worked for me. But yeah, times have changed a
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little bit too.
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Let's jump to your first Olympic Games in Beijing. What
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do you remember about that? The village, the opening ceremonies,
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because that's got to be an eye opener, like, oh
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my god, I'm.
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Here, absolutely, I mean like walking into the village and
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it's just like building after building after building that's all
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decorated with each country's flags, and you get your your
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kit of clothing, which was not the nicest, not gonna
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be perfectly honest. I love it. Although the track suit
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has now actually come back around again. Yeah that actually
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makes me feel old. We're on the second sitele of it,
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but you know, you get the track suit, you see
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the pool. Everything was super architectural. It was really over
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the top. It's it was everything I ever would have
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dreamed of. And even just I never really had people
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that I idolized growing up, but even just seeing all
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these athletes who you know, I'd raised some of them,
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but not on the scale and on the level of
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all sports together, so it checked a lot of boxes.
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I mean, it's it's I don't think I knew. You're
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so focused on your race, and my races were like
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day one, day seven, so you have to focus. But
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then actually being able to look back on it now, it's, yeah,
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it was everything I dreamed of since I was Four
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moments that I think about nowadays of finals were in
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the morning at that competition. So we got up at
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three thirty in the morning, Randy and I rode our
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bikes to the pool in the village, and you know,
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it was all this process starting. That was I never
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had to deal with that kind of change, but yeah,
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it was just I mean, the brevity of this situation
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was pretty on inspiring.
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While you're there, you end up winning the bronze in
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the fifteen hundred meter, first Olympic swimming medal for Canada
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since nineteen ninety six, the first medal for Canada in
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the fifteen hundred meter in eighty eight years. Did all
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of that kind of come over you when you knew
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you've got the bronze or were you just thinking, oh
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my god, I did this.
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It's a good question. It's like it's such a blur
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because like you touch the wall, you get out, you
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do interviews, you're not even thinking about what you're saying,
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you put your tracksit do on, they rush you over
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your GETT medal and it's all within the span of
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like twenty minutes, and then you're talking to your coach
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about what things you can do better. I was like,
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this could probably wait, Like this probably doesn't need to happen, right,
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the medals over your head exactly yelling at me no.
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But it's I think like we got totally just the
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media was not kind to the swim team, or really
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the Canadian team because we just hadn't won a lot
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of medals in the first week. And so I think
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that I knew I had to really focus on my race,
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and so once it was done, it really took a
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couple hours to really sink in. And I always tell
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the story of like standing on the podium and I
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was pretty mad at myself because my time from prelims
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tied what it took to win, and but you know
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you're standing there thinking, well, I could have won, which
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is like it's the negative part of sport, like you're
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always picking it apart there's always things that you think
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you can do differently, and it took a good four
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to six years to actually appreciate that moment. But now
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you know, I kind of kicked myself because that should
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have been the moment I dreamed about since I was
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a kid. And it's funny how the sporting influence can
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influence those major events. Coming home, I think I don't
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think I realized how, you know, much the community was involved,
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because you know, I don't think we even had internet
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in the village. You had to go to from what
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I remember, you had to go to like a computer
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haul to actually even this is again exactly, but you're
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so removed being in China, so that coming back and
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actually seeing those videos and realizing what that meant to
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my family and friends, it was magical.
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That is magical. Indeed more with the magical Ryan Cochran
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coming up on My Check, Sue, welcome back to My Check.
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My name is Paul Hayson. We've got a fantastic guest
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with us today, mister Ryan Cochran. We just talked about
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his first Olympic Games in Beijing. Let's jump to the
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Games in London. Because you said you were more of
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a mature athlete, more of a mature person. How different
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were those games going into and kind of having an
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understanding of what the Olympics were as well.
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It was one of the first competitions or my whole
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family could be there. Cool, So I thought that was
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pretty cool, except I felt like I was missing out
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on like the epic family trip zipping around London, all
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the good stories. But yeah, I was much more vocal
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on the team. I think like I wanted us to
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talk about winning. I wanted us to win multiple medals
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and and I really feel like we had seen that
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shift overall. I did not realize how different the games
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are city to city. Oh really, no idea. I mean,
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you know, being in Vancouver and experienced that, but you're
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on the outside, so you know that that's going to
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feel different. But every games has its own flair, and
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being in Europe was quite a different experience. So that
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was it was a bit like jarring when we got
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there because I thought it would be the same, but
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it's you know, as a team, I think it was
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much more positive. It was so negative in the two
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thousands for swimming. It was just you know, they needed
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to kind of change some leadership roles. It was just
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things weren't coming together at any given point and it
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just yeah, it was negative. So I think that kind
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of change into London was amazing and what we needed
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to see and just you know, better athletes kind of overall,
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and better attitudes. Being that vocal leader on the team,
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you have to perform. If you don't perform, you know,
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what's the point in being vocal about it? And so
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my four hundred I think was one of my lowest
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moment in sport. Missing the final again by well, you've
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made the.
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Final, and then they fixed it and yeah, it was
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a bit of a mess.
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Yeah, it's like nowadays, even just the fact that they
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don't use video review even though they have a million cameras.
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It's crazy, but you know those things it's almost like
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how you pick yourself back up and you know, show
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that you're a leader even when it doesn't go well.
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And so it's those games were yeah, completely different, but
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a lot of my teammates we had, you know, quite
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a few here from Victoria and just seeing those kind
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of results and share that with those people I think
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was also.
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Does that inspire with them when there is success in
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the pool early in the game. So if someone on
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the Canadian team, even if they don't win a medal,
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but performs really well, you're like, Okay, we're in this,
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we're doing this. Is that is there a sense of that?
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Yeah? And it's just such a nice change when it's
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for so long Canadians were like fourth ninth, you know,
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by the smallest margins and there's no real rhyme or reason.
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I mean when we're talking less than a tenth of
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a second. When you clap your hands, that's two tenths
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of a second, So it's crazy. It's half the time
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of that. And so those are like you kind of
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think like do we just have bad luck? Like how
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do we just keep being like hundreds of a second off?
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So I mean that's like real it. Finally it's turned
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around and win in our favor, and then as soon
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as it starts to happen, the trickle down effect is
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like that's just normalized.
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Let's talk about that fifteen hundred meter event. Then, because
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you end up qualifying in third, you set a PB
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in the final winning the silver, tell me about that
287
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moment in that process and that entire race.
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Well, that games was weird. So my main competitor fall started.
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Oh my, that was wild, which should have been disqualified.
290
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That's a rule, But at the same time, it is
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what it is, right, and the influence is a sport
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that I won't go too far into. So it was weird.
293
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It was just like calm, Yeah, I mean, you know,
294
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someone can get you any point, and it was a
295
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bit of a mad dash to the end.
296
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But it's like you were so confident in where you
297
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were and how you were swimming exactly.
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Yeah. I mean I knew I was getting second. I
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was like, there was no way in how I'm getting third,
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and so I was you know, it was, Yeah, it was.
301
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It was unexpectedly calm.
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That's very cool. And then that moment you've just wont
303
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a silver medal? Is it the same hoopla? Is it
304
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a different hoopla? And you mentioned how you were feeling
305
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on the podium after the first one. How are you
306
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feeling on the podium after this?
307
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A million times better? Oh? Cool? I think because I
308
00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:30.399
knew I wasn't going to go six seconds faster. You're like,
309
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this was the best race I could have put together.
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You know, maybe I could have gotten two or three
311
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seconds here or there, but all athletes know, it's not
312
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about times in the Olympics, it's just about placing. So
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it was Yeah, it was just it felt good and
314
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I think having the whole family there and you know
315
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what it means to them, and I'm sure my mom
316
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was just losing it and I wish. I just wish
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once in my career someone would have taken a video
318
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of my parents' rown. Mom. Yeah, I never I never
319
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saw it, which is too bad because you always wonder
320
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if they're quiet or loud, and they'll never tell me.
321
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They'll take it to the grave.
322
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Let's jump all the way to twenty sixteen. In real
323
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you're named co captain of that team. Is the motivation
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wildly different there? Do you think, okay, I can actually
325
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do this or what do you remember about those games?
326
00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:11.000
Another very different games? Yeah, yeah, it's you know what,
327
00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:14.360
stuff was so streamlined in China. London was a little
328
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crazier but still quite streamlined. Reel was a total mess.
329
00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:21.159
It was just chaos, total chaos. But it's like everyone's
330
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in the same boat, you know, It's like it's not
331
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like somebody has you.
332
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Guys were staying actually in boats.
333
00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:27.720
Exactly, yeah, exactly, No, they were closer to the vent
334
00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:31.159
that would have been easier, but it's yeah, it's the
335
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we knew we were going to do better. I think
336
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it's funny in retrospect, I kind of had some idea
337
00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:39.559
that something just wasn't right for me, and I think
338
00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:42.360
when Randy passed away, you know, a year or two before,
339
00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:46.480
we did everything possible to like, you know, stay the course,
340
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and it was the best year of training I'd ever had.
341
00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:51.000
I was doing everything better than I ever had. But
342
00:14:52.279 --> 00:14:53.919
maybe it was just an age thing. I mean, like
343
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most of our athletes were sixteen to nineteen that were
344
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winning medals. I was twenty seven, which is still very young, yeah,
345
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but so old in a sport where you know your
346
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two games passed.
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When you're looking at the summer Macintosh's and Penny Alexiak,
348
00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:10.759
you'd be like, Okay, that might be a little bit seasoned, exactly.
349
00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:12.679
And I think you just come into it with so
350
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much more memories of what it's like good bad in acute,
351
00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:19.759
so your your observations around sport are different, and so
352
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you know, I think I was optimistic, I was excited,
353
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and it just yeah, didn't didn't quite come together. Looking
354
00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:28.600
back on it, it's like, well, of course it didn't.
355
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I mean, so many things were in flux, and you know,
356
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you can't expect to have every game's become better every time,
357
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and I was fortunate that throughout my career was pretty consistent.
358
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But you know, it sucks to have your worst games
359
00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:43.480
as your last games. But at the same time, it's like,
360
00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:45.639
but you can appreciate being part of the games at
361
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that point.
362
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Do you ever think or talk to other people outside
363
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of your swimming circle? Do you talk to a Simon
364
00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:53.399
Wickfield or someone who's in a different sport.
365
00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:56.360
We're so lucky Victoria to have all these different sports.
366
00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:59.000
I mean, the rowers, we were quite close with the athletes.
367
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There's just and all those friends that you make along
368
00:16:02.279 --> 00:16:05.000
the way, like the other Ryan Cochrane that was on
369
00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:08.080
the Olympic team, good guy, right, can kayak?
370
00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:08.639
Can U kayak?
371
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Yeah? But in reality, yeah, it's nice to have a
372
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different atmosphere to be a part of when it's still
373
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sporting related. But it's but people are coming at it
374
00:16:17.919 --> 00:16:20.440
from such different backgrounds that you do always kind of
375
00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:22.720
relate back to the swimmers because they just they just
376
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get it.
377
00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:27.200
So twenty seventeen March, you decided, Okay, twenty nine years old,
378
00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:29.679
I'm too long in the tooth for swimming. I'm hanging
379
00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:32.279
it up. What was that decision like and what did
380
00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:32.840
that feel like?
381
00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:36.440
Pretty good? Pretty damn good. Yeah, I'm one of the
382
00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:39.600
fortunate ones. I mean, leaving sport. There really is only
383
00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:42.159
two options. You either like excited about that next chapter.
384
00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:45.279
There's not many people that are indifferent about it, or
385
00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:47.480
there's the people that wish they could keep going and
386
00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:50.080
want to do it forever. I was of the attitude of, like,
387
00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:52.120
I knew I was retiring after that game, so like
388
00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:55.200
it didn't that was the plan forever. I kind of
389
00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:57.720
was excited about a new chapter, and I rephrased in
390
00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:59.559
my mind of like, I've taken off less than a
391
00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:03.279
second in ten years in my race that's fifteen minutes long. Wow,
392
00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:04.799
I don't want to beat my head against the wall
393
00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:07.200
to try to take off one tenth of a second, right,
394
00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:09.440
And so then you're like, well, yes, you go from
395
00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:12.640
being top two in the world to being the bottom
396
00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:14.880
two at anything that you start with, But then you
397
00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:18.200
can actually make those big gains and start some normalcy
398
00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:20.759
in life. And I think it was just most concerned
399
00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:22.559
that it wasn't going to be exciting and it wasn't
400
00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:25.000
going to be like we used to travel six plus
401
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:27.279
months of the year, and so being in Victoria, I
402
00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:28.039
was a little nervous.
403
00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:30.200
It's your life, right, yeah.
404
00:17:29.799 --> 00:17:32.839
Yeah, And so just reinventing yourself. I leaned into it
405
00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:34.680
instead of, you know, running from it.
406
00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:37.359
When'd you find that passion in real estate? Does that
407
00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:40.920
allow you to have that competitive side like you had
408
00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:42.279
in the pool to some extent?
409
00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:45.400
Oh? Absolutely. And I think all my friends and family
410
00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:47.480
just give me the hardest time because like I'll start
411
00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:49.400
all these new sports and I'm like, I'm terrible, and
412
00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:51.119
they're like, well, you'll get better. I'm like, I don't care.
413
00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:54.359
It's you know, I do sports and stuff to just
414
00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:57.240
work out, and that's like I don't need that competitive drive.
415
00:17:57.319 --> 00:17:59.119
But it is really nice to find a career where
416
00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:03.519
you're competitive nature, but also your work ethic is in line,
417
00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:05.240
and so the more you put into it, the more
418
00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:06.599
you get out of it. And I think people really
419
00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:10.119
appreciate that you're working that hard for them.
420
00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:12.119
Is it tough though, I mean you're at the top
421
00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:15.240
of something and the entire planet and now you're starting
422
00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:17.359
this new career and you're not at the top of it.
423
00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:19.680
There you've got to work for that. Does that make
424
00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:22.119
you hungry or is that tougher you get frustrated. I'm
425
00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:24.119
sure that there's a gamut of emotions there.
426
00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:28.559
One hundred percent. I started with two other agents. Their
427
00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:31.039
businesses grew way faster than mine, and so that was
428
00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:33.519
the frustration. It's like, well, am I doing something wrong?
429
00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:36.160
Im i'n the wrong business? It just was a bit
430
00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:38.000
of a slow burden learning it. Yeah, And I think
431
00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:40.160
that's where you lean back into like as a kid,
432
00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:42.920
I had to learn to just like grind my way
433
00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:46.880
through those uncomfortable moments. And then I think again people
434
00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:49.279
appreciate that. It's like, you know, I'm not looking for
435
00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:52.319
immediate gratification. It's like, I want to build a career
436
00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:55.119
and a reputation in the city that will last for
437
00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:56.119
years to come.
438
00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:59.240
What will be your biggest takeaway from your own swimming career?
439
00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:00.759
And when you look back on it, you say, that
440
00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.200
was a lifetime ago. But when you look back on it,
441
00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:04.480
what will you remember most?
442
00:19:04.839 --> 00:19:06.799
That's a hard question, and so you should have prouded
443
00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:10.480
you with that before. That's the ultimate what's the ult
444
00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:13.319
of a takeaway. Yeah, I feel so fortunate to have
445
00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:15.680
been able to do it for twenty years, and I think,
446
00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:18.559
you know, the time my family put into it, and
447
00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:20.599
then the support of the community, and then having a
448
00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:22.759
good coach, Like, there's all these things that you can't
449
00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:26.279
control that are major influences on what you're doing. And
450
00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:28.680
so I think the key takeaway is that it takes
451
00:19:28.680 --> 00:19:30.839
a village. And like I always talk about our staff,
452
00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:32.960
but we had a staff of eight to ten full
453
00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:35.480
time staff that their job was to allow me to
454
00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:38.000
take off one tenth of a second every year, and
455
00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:41.039
so I think your appreciation for that and sport is
456
00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:44.160
celebrated in these moments of the Olympics, but there's so
457
00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:47.000
many days in between, and so many days that you
458
00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:48.759
need that support system to get you through.
459
00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:50.400
We're going to do a quick shift. On the other side,
460
00:19:50.440 --> 00:20:00.240
you are watching and listening to my check well and
461
00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:03.000
welcome back to Mike check. We have Ryan Cochrane joining
462
00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:06.880
us today, Olympian and realtor to the stars or anyone
463
00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:09.119
who was interested. Are you ready for a quick ship sir?
464
00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:13.440
Absolutely? All right. First car Toyota Tursell that costs two
465
00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:14.000
hundred dollars.
466
00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:16.240
Nice driving that to Commonwealth a few times.
467
00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:18.079
I'm sure, yeah, shared it with my brother. It was
468
00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:19.279
red nice.
469
00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:20.079
First job.
470
00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:25.000
That's a hard one, I guess I'm swimming, I guess. Yeah.
471
00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:27.200
Like my first job I guess was really when I
472
00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:29.799
was twenty seven looking for supper. Coming there you go.
473
00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:32.119
Yeah, favorite post race meal.
474
00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:35.720
I don't think I had one, No, I think, well,
475
00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:37.440
you know what, when you're in the village of the Olympics,
476
00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:40.599
that's where you just get one of everything. I love.
477
00:20:40.680 --> 00:20:43.559
Okay, then let's go here, be it snacks, perks or
478
00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:46.759
swag bags. What's something cool about the athletes village that
479
00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:48.160
maybe people don't know about.
480
00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:51.640
It wasn't at my last games, but the McDonald's in
481
00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:55.000
the village was probably a big perk. First games. It
482
00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:57.720
was actually in the food hall and they started migrating
483
00:20:57.759 --> 00:20:59.279
it out. But that was a big person.
484
00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:01.519
And once you're done with you event, you're just housing anything.
485
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Oh you go order twelve cheeseburgers and you hope that
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you eat them all. I love that.
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Favorite Olympic memory that wasn't yours.
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My teammate Hillary won a bronze medal in twenty sixteen,
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and I think just seeing that work put in and
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actually seeing it payoff was absolutely incredible.
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Movie about your life. Who's playing Ryan Conchrane?
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Oh, any suggestions?
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I mean Ryan Reynolds, baby could go.
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It just makes sense. It just makes me look so similar.
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It's night and day.
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Yeah, the man you both named Ryan. What's easier to
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sell an old Victorian home that's been renoed or new
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home with vintage touches.
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As long as it's not haunted and old one?
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We actually had a haunted episode on my check and
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so yes, we know very well. How many are Finally,
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how can people get in touch you with you if
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they are interested in real estate?
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I got a website Ron Concoran Dots, and it's one
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of those things I always happy to talk about, sports,
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real estate, any of that. Like, it's easy, it's fun,
507
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and it's such a great community.
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It's so nice being in Victorian to call yourself a
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Victoria and not be flying out every which way every day.
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I you know what, I was so scared about spending
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a winter here. Yeah, because I hadn't done that in
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a decade. That sounds very charmed, but it's like, just
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there's so much to do here that I don't think
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I ever realized was even an option. And it's his
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best city in the world.
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It is the best city on the planet. Well, Ryan Cochran,
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you were an absolute legend in the pool, but you're
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a wonderful human outside of it as well. And thank
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you so much for joining us, Thanks for having me.
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That's been another episode of Mike Check. Of course you
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can listen. You can watch anytime on check plus dot
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CA until we chat again.
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Check Podcasts.
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Hello, and welcome to Mike Check. My name is Paul Haysim.
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I do play the bumbling host around here, and today
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we are talking Olympics, more specifically Olympic success. Our guest
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is one of the best swimmers to ever do it
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for Canada. He's from right here in Victoria. Ryan Cochran.
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Three time Olympian, winning a bronze and silver in the
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fifteen hundred meter freestyle, three time gold medalists at the
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Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a four time Commonwealth Games champion,
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He's got six World Championship medals. He's a two time
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gold medal winner at the Pan American Game. Is going
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to take a breath here hes. He was named Canadian
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Male Swimmer of the Year eight times, recently got inducted
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into the BC Sports Hall of Fame and now retired.
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He's selling real estate around Victoria. Felt like I just
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swam a fifteen.
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Hundred meter freestyle there. I swear it's usually a little
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harder than Matt. Yeah.
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Ryan Cochrane, Welcome to Mike Jack, sir.
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Good to be here.
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When people ask you, they're like, oh, so you were
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a swimmer and Olympia. What do you tell them because
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you can't rattle off all these stats, right.
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It's been really interesting kind of going back into the
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public sphere with my job nowadays. You just make those
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connections with people and it's so special when they're like,
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I watched you, you know, I saw you throughout your career.
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But I think in reality, it's that Olympian you know title,
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that Olympia people really click with and it's what I mean,
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that's what I dreamed about when I was young, and
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so I can see why that just especially around the Olympics,
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really picks back up.
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You say you dreamed about it when you were young.
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In grade four, I believe you were asked what you
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want to be when you grow up. You said, do
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you remember that.
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Moment'd like very specifically, And the funniest thing is I
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probably thought that was a full time job forever at
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that age, because people seem so old when they went
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to the Olympics, and little did you realize that you're
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a teenager when you're doing it. But yeah, it's like
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that was my goal. And I always like to tell
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that story because I was so bad at everything that
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I did at that point, and but I just you know,
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you learn the hustle of it and you learn how
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to have that dream.
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And was it swimming specific back then or just Olympians.
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I had started swimming at that point, but I think
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I just I didn't know what sport I was good at.
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I was bad at swimming at that point. So I
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just like, it's funny that as a kid, that's what
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you like really wanted to do when you onto exactly yeah,
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and then to think, you know, obviously how far my
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career took me and my family and my teammates, and
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but you never would have known that from that grade four.
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You said you were bad at athletics, and you're you
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have a twin brother, and your twin brother was really
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quite athletic, wasn't he?
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Yeah? Absolutely, Like he was always a standout athlete. He
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was always the one picked first. The only reason I
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was on the better teams is because we were twins
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and they didn't want to split us up. But I
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just you know, talking to parents, and you know, every
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parent wants their kid to be, you know, a standout
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athlete or you know, maybe whether they don't say it,
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but you want your kids to have success. And I
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think what brought me success was actually just not having
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that at a young age. You have to learn how
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to fumble your way through that and learn those long
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term goals and how to really focus on that when
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it's not happening right away. And I think that that's
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what creates, you know, good adults. You know, if kids
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can learn that at a young age, whether they get
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the success in sport or not, it doesn't really matter.
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It's you know, you're teaching those lessons of tenacity that
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really carry with you forever.
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Who pushed you towards swimming at that point because you
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were trying a variety of spores. What was it about
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swimming that you're like, okay, I might be okay at this.
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I was fortunate that nobody pushed me. It was like
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I tried a summer camp and I just loved it
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and just the environment. I mean, at that point, it
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was we got to swim all day and then go
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to Elk Lake and swim all afternoon, and I just
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I was hooked right at the beginning. But I was, yeah,
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I was lucky. My parents just said, like, just do something,
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we don't care what it is, just get out of
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this house exactly, like there's too many kids here. But
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at the end of the day, it's it's funny because
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I don't think they knew it was going to be
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four forty five am mornings. I don't think they knew
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expensive it was going to be, how much we're going
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to travel. But yeah, it was just like a total
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love for the environment and made such good friends so early.
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And that comes. I mean, all that travel, all those
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early mornings, that comes with success. So at what point
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did you realize, Okay, I'm pretty good at this right,
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because that is a there has to be a moment
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along any athleteses path, right.
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I would say like success started coming like eleven twelve
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years old, aga, just you know, you finally start to
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see things click a little bit. That's when I started
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working with my long term coach and I think like
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he saw the potential there and that really help kind
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of speed things along. But yeah, I mean I was
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good at a different stroke at that age, and you know,
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you just start to see some success and I think
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you it's such a motivator as soon as you start
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to see that.
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And is that the late Randy Bennett you're talking about.
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It was sadly passed away from cancer in twenty fifteen,
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But what did he really pull out of you and
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inspire in you in that moment?
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You know, we fought all the time, Like I mean,
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I think, like my call it spitefulness for lack of
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a better term, but like that kind of drive has
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a good and a bad side to it. But I
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think like we used to spar on everything, and I
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used to question him on everything and he hated that.
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But over that kind of ten twelve fifteen year career,
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it's like that's how you build that trust. And I
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think he almost saw like he came in when I
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started to see some success, but also he saw that
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that attitude and drive to probably rein it in. But
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I think that's that type of drive a coach needs
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to see and needs to be able to, you know,
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help foster for the entire career.
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And does that make you better when he's pushing you
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on areas that you think that you don't need to
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be pushed on necessarily, I.
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Think that's a coach's job. It's funny though, because I'm
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of the attitude of like I need to be pushed
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and I'm a self motivator now, but not all athletes
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need that, so it as an adult. Super interesting to think, like,
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as a coach, you need to be able to see
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what each athlete needs. And I always think like I
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would be a tyrant of a coach because that's just
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what worked for me. But yeah, times have changed a
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little bit too.
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Let's jump to your first Olympic Games in Beijing. What
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do you remember about that? The village, the opening ceremonies,
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because that's got to be an eye opener, like, oh
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my god, I'm.
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Here, absolutely, I mean like walking into the village and
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it's just like building after building after building that's all
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decorated with each country's flags, and you get your your
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kit of clothing, which was not the nicest, not gonna
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be perfectly honest. I love it. Although the track suit
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has now actually come back around again. Yeah that actually
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makes me feel old. We're on the second sitele of it,
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but you know, you get the track suit, you see
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the pool. Everything was super architectural. It was really over
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the top. It's it was everything I ever would have
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dreamed of. And even just I never really had people
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that I idolized growing up, but even just seeing all
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these athletes who you know, I'd raised some of them,
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but not on the scale and on the level of
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all sports together, so it checked a lot of boxes.
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I mean, it's it's I don't think I knew. You're
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so focused on your race, and my races were like
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day one, day seven, so you have to focus. But
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then actually being able to look back on it now, it's, yeah,
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it was everything I dreamed of since I was Four
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moments that I think about nowadays of finals were in
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the morning at that competition. So we got up at
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three thirty in the morning, Randy and I rode our
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bikes to the pool in the village, and you know,
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it was all this process starting. That was I never
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had to deal with that kind of change, but yeah,
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it was just I mean, the brevity of this situation
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was pretty on inspiring.
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While you're there, you end up winning the bronze in
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the fifteen hundred meter, first Olympic swimming medal for Canada
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since nineteen ninety six, the first medal for Canada in
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the fifteen hundred meter in eighty eight years. Did all
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of that kind of come over you when you knew
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you've got the bronze or were you just thinking, oh
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my god, I did this.
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It's a good question. It's like it's such a blur
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because like you touch the wall, you get out, you
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do interviews, you're not even thinking about what you're saying,
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you put your tracksit do on, they rush you over
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your GETT medal and it's all within the span of
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like twenty minutes, and then you're talking to your coach
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about what things you can do better. I was like,
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this could probably wait, Like this probably doesn't need to happen, right,
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the medals over your head exactly yelling at me no.
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But it's I think like we got totally just the
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media was not kind to the swim team, or really
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the Canadian team because we just hadn't won a lot
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of medals in the first week. And so I think
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that I knew I had to really focus on my race,
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and so once it was done, it really took a
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couple hours to really sink in. And I always tell
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the story of like standing on the podium and I
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was pretty mad at myself because my time from prelims
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tied what it took to win, and but you know
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you're standing there thinking, well, I could have won, which
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is like it's the negative part of sport, like you're
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always picking it apart there's always things that you think
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you can do differently, and it took a good four
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to six years to actually appreciate that moment. But now
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you know, I kind of kicked myself because that should
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have been the moment I dreamed about since I was
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a kid. And it's funny how the sporting influence can
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influence those major events. Coming home, I think I don't
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think I realized how, you know, much the community was involved,
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because you know, I don't think we even had internet
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in the village. You had to go to from what
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I remember, you had to go to like a computer
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haul to actually even this is again exactly, but you're
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so removed being in China, so that coming back and
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actually seeing those videos and realizing what that meant to
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my family and friends, it was magical.
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That is magical. Indeed more with the magical Ryan Cochran
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coming up on My Check, Sue, welcome back to My Check.
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My name is Paul Hayson. We've got a fantastic guest
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with us today, mister Ryan Cochran. We just talked about
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his first Olympic Games in Beijing. Let's jump to the
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Games in London. Because you said you were more of
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a mature athlete, more of a mature person. How different
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were those games going into and kind of having an
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understanding of what the Olympics were as well.
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It was one of the first competitions or my whole
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family could be there. Cool, So I thought that was
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pretty cool, except I felt like I was missing out
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on like the epic family trip zipping around London, all
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the good stories. But yeah, I was much more vocal
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on the team. I think like I wanted us to
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talk about winning. I wanted us to win multiple medals
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and and I really feel like we had seen that
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shift overall. I did not realize how different the games
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are city to city. Oh really, no idea. I mean,
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you know, being in Vancouver and experienced that, but you're
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on the outside, so you know that that's going to
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feel different. But every games has its own flair, and
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being in Europe was quite a different experience. So that
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was it was a bit like jarring when we got
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there because I thought it would be the same, but
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it's you know, as a team, I think it was
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much more positive. It was so negative in the two
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thousands for swimming. It was just you know, they needed
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to kind of change some leadership roles. It was just
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things weren't coming together at any given point and it
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just yeah, it was negative. So I think that kind
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of change into London was amazing and what we needed
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to see and just you know, better athletes kind of overall,
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and better attitudes. Being that vocal leader on the team,
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you have to perform. If you don't perform, you know,
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what's the point in being vocal about it? And so
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my four hundred I think was one of my lowest
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moment in sport. Missing the final again by well, you've
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made the.
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Final, and then they fixed it and yeah, it was
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a bit of a mess.
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Yeah, it's like nowadays, even just the fact that they
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don't use video review even though they have a million cameras.
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It's crazy, but you know those things it's almost like
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how you pick yourself back up and you know, show
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that you're a leader even when it doesn't go well.
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And so it's those games were yeah, completely different, but
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a lot of my teammates we had, you know, quite
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a few here from Victoria and just seeing those kind
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of results and share that with those people I think
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was also.
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Does that inspire with them when there is success in
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the pool early in the game. So if someone on
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the Canadian team, even if they don't win a medal,
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but performs really well, you're like, Okay, we're in this,
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we're doing this. Is that is there a sense of that?
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Yeah? And it's just such a nice change when it's
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for so long Canadians were like fourth ninth, you know,
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by the smallest margins and there's no real rhyme or reason.
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I mean when we're talking less than a tenth of
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a second. When you clap your hands, that's two tenths
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of a second, So it's crazy. It's half the time
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of that. And so those are like you kind of
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think like do we just have bad luck? Like how
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do we just keep being like hundreds of a second off?
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So I mean that's like real it. Finally it's turned
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around and win in our favor, and then as soon
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as it starts to happen, the trickle down effect is
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like that's just normalized.
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Let's talk about that fifteen hundred meter event. Then, because
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you end up qualifying in third, you set a PB
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in the final winning the silver, tell me about that
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moment in that process and that entire race.
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Well, that games was weird. So my main competitor fall started.
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Oh my, that was wild, which should have been disqualified.
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That's a rule, But at the same time, it is
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what it is, right, and the influence is a sport
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that I won't go too far into. So it was weird.
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It was just like calm, Yeah, I mean, you know,
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someone can get you any point, and it was a
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bit of a mad dash to the end.
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But it's like you were so confident in where you
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were and how you were swimming exactly.
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Yeah. I mean I knew I was getting second. I
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was like, there was no way in how I'm getting third,
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and so I was you know, it was, Yeah, it was.
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It was unexpectedly calm.
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That's very cool. And then that moment you've just wont
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a silver medal? Is it the same hoopla? Is it
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a different hoopla? And you mentioned how you were feeling
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on the podium after the first one. How are you
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feeling on the podium after this?
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A million times better? Oh? Cool? I think because I
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knew I wasn't going to go six seconds faster. You're like,
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this was the best race I could have put together.
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You know, maybe I could have gotten two or three
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seconds here or there, but all athletes know, it's not
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about times in the Olympics, it's just about placing. So
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it was Yeah, it was just it felt good and
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I think having the whole family there and you know
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what it means to them, and I'm sure my mom
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was just losing it and I wish. I just wish
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once in my career someone would have taken a video
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of my parents' rown. Mom. Yeah, I never I never
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saw it, which is too bad because you always wonder
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if they're quiet or loud, and they'll never tell me.
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They'll take it to the grave.
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Let's jump all the way to twenty sixteen. In real
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you're named co captain of that team. Is the motivation
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wildly different there? Do you think, okay, I can actually
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do this or what do you remember about those games?
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Another very different games? Yeah, yeah, it's you know what,
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stuff was so streamlined in China. London was a little
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crazier but still quite streamlined. Reel was a total mess.
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It was just chaos, total chaos. But it's like everyone's
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in the same boat, you know, It's like it's not
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like somebody has you.
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Guys were staying actually in boats.
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Exactly, yeah, exactly, No, they were closer to the vent
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that would have been easier, but it's yeah, it's the
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we knew we were going to do better. I think
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it's funny in retrospect, I kind of had some idea
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that something just wasn't right for me, and I think
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when Randy passed away, you know, a year or two before,
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we did everything possible to like, you know, stay the course,
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and it was the best year of training I'd ever had.
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I was doing everything better than I ever had. But
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maybe it was just an age thing. I mean, like
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most of our athletes were sixteen to nineteen that were
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winning medals. I was twenty seven, which is still very young, yeah,
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but so old in a sport where you know your
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two games passed.
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When you're looking at the summer Macintosh's and Penny Alexiak,
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you'd be like, Okay, that might be a little bit seasoned, exactly.
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And I think you just come into it with so
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much more memories of what it's like good bad in acute,
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so your your observations around sport are different, and so
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you know, I think I was optimistic, I was excited,
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and it just yeah, didn't didn't quite come together. Looking
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back on it, it's like, well, of course it didn't.
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I mean, so many things were in flux, and you know,
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you can't expect to have every game's become better every time,
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and I was fortunate that throughout my career was pretty consistent.
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But you know, it sucks to have your worst games
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as your last games. But at the same time, it's like,
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but you can appreciate being part of the games at
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that point.
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Do you ever think or talk to other people outside
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of your swimming circle? Do you talk to a Simon
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Wickfield or someone who's in a different sport.
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We're so lucky Victoria to have all these different sports.
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I mean, the rowers, we were quite close with the athletes.
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There's just and all those friends that you make along
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the way, like the other Ryan Cochrane that was on
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the Olympic team, good guy, right, can kayak?
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Can U kayak?
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Yeah? But in reality, yeah, it's nice to have a
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different atmosphere to be a part of when it's still
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sporting related. But it's but people are coming at it
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from such different backgrounds that you do always kind of
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relate back to the swimmers because they just they just
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get it.
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So twenty seventeen March, you decided, Okay, twenty nine years old,
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I'm too long in the tooth for swimming. I'm hanging
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it up. What was that decision like and what did
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that feel like?
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Pretty good? Pretty damn good. Yeah, I'm one of the
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fortunate ones. I mean, leaving sport. There really is only
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two options. You either like excited about that next chapter.
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There's not many people that are indifferent about it, or
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there's the people that wish they could keep going and
386
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want to do it forever. I was of the attitude of, like,
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I knew I was retiring after that game, so like
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it didn't that was the plan forever. I kind of
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was excited about a new chapter, and I rephrased in
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my mind of like, I've taken off less than a
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second in ten years in my race that's fifteen minutes long. Wow,
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I don't want to beat my head against the wall
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to try to take off one tenth of a second, right,
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And so then you're like, well, yes, you go from
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being top two in the world to being the bottom
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two at anything that you start with, But then you
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can actually make those big gains and start some normalcy
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in life. And I think it was just most concerned
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that it wasn't going to be exciting and it wasn't
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going to be like we used to travel six plus
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months of the year, and so being in Victoria, I
402
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was a little nervous.
403
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It's your life, right, yeah.
404
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Yeah, And so just reinventing yourself. I leaned into it
405
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instead of, you know, running from it.
406
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When'd you find that passion in real estate? Does that
407
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allow you to have that competitive side like you had
408
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in the pool to some extent?
409
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Oh? Absolutely. And I think all my friends and family
410
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just give me the hardest time because like I'll start
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all these new sports and I'm like, I'm terrible, and
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they're like, well, you'll get better. I'm like, I don't care.
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It's you know, I do sports and stuff to just
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work out, and that's like I don't need that competitive drive.
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But it is really nice to find a career where
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you're competitive nature, but also your work ethic is in line,
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and so the more you put into it, the more
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you get out of it. And I think people really
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appreciate that you're working that hard for them.
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Is it tough though, I mean you're at the top
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of something and the entire planet and now you're starting
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this new career and you're not at the top of it.
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There you've got to work for that. Does that make
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you hungry or is that tougher you get frustrated. I'm
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sure that there's a gamut of emotions there.
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One hundred percent. I started with two other agents. Their
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businesses grew way faster than mine, and so that was
428
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the frustration. It's like, well, am I doing something wrong?
429
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Im i'n the wrong business? It just was a bit
430
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of a slow burden learning it. Yeah, And I think
431
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that's where you lean back into like as a kid,
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I had to learn to just like grind my way
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through those uncomfortable moments. And then I think again people
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appreciate that. It's like, you know, I'm not looking for
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immediate gratification. It's like, I want to build a career
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and a reputation in the city that will last for
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years to come.
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What will be your biggest takeaway from your own swimming career?
439
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And when you look back on it, you say, that
440
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was a lifetime ago. But when you look back on it,
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what will you remember most?
442
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That's a hard question, and so you should have prouded
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you with that before. That's the ultimate what's the ult
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of a takeaway. Yeah, I feel so fortunate to have
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been able to do it for twenty years, and I think,
446
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you know, the time my family put into it, and
447
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then the support of the community, and then having a
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good coach, Like, there's all these things that you can't
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control that are major influences on what you're doing. And
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so I think the key takeaway is that it takes
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a village. And like I always talk about our staff,
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but we had a staff of eight to ten full
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time staff that their job was to allow me to
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take off one tenth of a second every year, and
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so I think your appreciation for that and sport is
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celebrated in these moments of the Olympics, but there's so
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many days in between, and so many days that you
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need that support system to get you through.
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We're going to do a quick shift. On the other side,
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you are watching and listening to my check well and
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welcome back to Mike check. We have Ryan Cochrane joining
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us today, Olympian and realtor to the stars or anyone
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who was interested. Are you ready for a quick ship sir?
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Absolutely? All right. First car Toyota Tursell that costs two
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hundred dollars.
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Nice driving that to Commonwealth a few times.
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00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:18.079
I'm sure, yeah, shared it with my brother. It was
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red nice.
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First job.
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That's a hard one, I guess I'm swimming, I guess. Yeah.
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Like my first job I guess was really when I
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was twenty seven looking for supper. Coming there you go.
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Yeah, favorite post race meal.
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00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:35.720
I don't think I had one, No, I think, well,
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you know what, when you're in the village of the Olympics,
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that's where you just get one of everything. I love.
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Okay, then let's go here, be it snacks, perks or
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00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:46.759
swag bags. What's something cool about the athletes village that
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maybe people don't know about.
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It wasn't at my last games, but the McDonald's in
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00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:55.000
the village was probably a big perk. First games. It
482
00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:57.720
was actually in the food hall and they started migrating
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it out. But that was a big person.
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00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:01.519
And once you're done with you event, you're just housing anything.
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Oh you go order twelve cheeseburgers and you hope that
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you eat them all. I love that.
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Favorite Olympic memory that wasn't yours.
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00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:11.599
My teammate Hillary won a bronze medal in twenty sixteen,
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and I think just seeing that work put in and
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actually seeing it payoff was absolutely incredible.
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Movie about your life. Who's playing Ryan Conchrane?
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Oh, any suggestions?
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I mean Ryan Reynolds, baby could go.
494
00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:28.480
It just makes sense. It just makes me look so similar.
495
00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:29.799
It's night and day.
496
00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:33.319
Yeah, the man you both named Ryan. What's easier to
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sell an old Victorian home that's been renoed or new
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00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:38.039
home with vintage touches.
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00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:40.720
As long as it's not haunted and old one?
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00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:44.519
We actually had a haunted episode on my check and
501
00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:47.440
so yes, we know very well. How many are Finally,
502
00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:49.160
how can people get in touch you with you if
503
00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:50.920
they are interested in real estate?
504
00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:54.400
I got a website Ron Concoran Dots, and it's one
505
00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:56.200
of those things I always happy to talk about, sports,
506
00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:58.359
real estate, any of that. Like, it's easy, it's fun,
507
00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.839
and it's such a great community.
508
00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.839
It's so nice being in Victorian to call yourself a
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00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:05.440
Victoria and not be flying out every which way every day.
510
00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:07.880
I you know what, I was so scared about spending
511
00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:09.599
a winter here. Yeah, because I hadn't done that in
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00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:13.119
a decade. That sounds very charmed, but it's like, just
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00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:15.000
there's so much to do here that I don't think
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00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:17.640
I ever realized was even an option. And it's his
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00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:18.559
best city in the world.
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00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:21.079
It is the best city on the planet. Well, Ryan Cochran,
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you were an absolute legend in the pool, but you're
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a wonderful human outside of it as well. And thank
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00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:28.119
you so much for joining us, Thanks for having me.
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That's been another episode of Mike Check. Of course you
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00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:33.599
can listen. You can watch anytime on check plus dot
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00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:35.200
CA until we chat again.
