TSF Blog
Relighting the fire within, Day 8: Jeret 'Speedy' Peterson sports 'Hi, Emily' gloves for the injured Emily Cook
By Amy Donaldson, Deseret News
Her memories of 2002 are more emotional on this 10th anniversary because Peterson took his own life this summer. His mother gave Cook the gloves he wore, along with a picture of the two taken in 2006, which she has framed at her house.
She was at Deer Valley when USSA officials honored Peterson by naming the lift that takes aerialists to the top of the kickers "The Hurricane." It was the jump Peterson landed in the 2010 Games that earned him a silver medal.
And now she knows she must do for him what he did for her 10 years ago today. "I've never been at Deer Valley without him," said Cook of Peterson. "We all miss him a lot. … It's hard not having him on the hill, but at the same time, I feel a responsibility to pass on all of those amazing qualities to all of the athletes."
"I have done my fair share of mourning and grieving, but I will get it together on the hill. I know how to hear his voice in my head and use it to my advantage. I will do what he's always done for me," she said. "He was jumping for me."
The Hurricane Lives On
PARK CITY, UT (Feb. 1, 2012) – On the eve of the Visa Freestyle International World Cup, Deer Valley Resort has renamed its unique freestyle aerials tow lift “The Hurricane” in memory of the late Jeret “Speedy” Peterson. The tow is used to shuttle aerials athletes to the top of the jump for the annual International Ski Federation World Cup. The 2010 Olympic silver medalist in freestyle aerials, Peterson won two of his seven World Cups at Deer Valley including setting a world record two-jump score of 268.70 in January of 2007 landing his trademark Hurricane – three flips and five twists.
Deer Valley was the home aerials hill for three-time Olympian Jeret “Speedy” Peterson, a native of Boise, ID. Peterson won seven career World Cups, including back-to-back wins in January, 2007 with a world record two-jump score of 268.70. Peterson was one of the most popular athletes on the World Cup and know for his constant caring for his friends and fellow competitors.
Remembering Jeret ‘Speedy’ Peterson
Intrepid on skis and in life, the inventor of the Hurricane cut his own path
When Jeret “Speedy” Peterson took flight, you didn’t have to know a full-triple-full-full from a triple-venti-mocha-latte to know you were witnessing something spectacular. For the past six years, Peterson was the only aerials skier in the world who could nail a quintuple-twisting triple backflip. Unlike other quints, Peterson ripped out three twists on his second flip, a most improbable sequence.
Remembering Jeret, Rallying for Suicide Prevention
Not long ago, one of my more gifted acquaintances met his maker after a tumultuous bout with demons that many of us could never comprehend. Jeret Petersen was much more than a talented skier, and his legacy is quickly becoming something that he probably couldn't have ever fathomed.
Team Speedy Walks
Coaches, teammates, friends, and family of Jeret "Speedy" Peterson came out in force to represent Team Speedy at the UT NAMI Walk this weekend. Here are highlights from the event as well as information on how you can get involved with The Speedy Foundation.
Olympic Skier's Foundation Aims to Prevent Suicide
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A charitable foundation established in the name of Olympic silver medalist Jeret "Speedy" Peterson plans to donate $10,000 toward the creation of a statewide suicide prevention hotline in Idaho.
Olympian Jeret 'Speedy' Peterson Commits Suicide, Police Say
"Speedy was an amazing athlete," [Cook] said Tuesday night through a U.S. Ski Team spokesman. "I will always remember jumping alongside him as he pushed the sport, himself and his teammates to be the best. In addition to being the incredible athlete that we all knew, Speedy was a true friend. His loyalty and commitment to each of his teammates was unwavering and he will be missed by all who knew and loved him."
Jeret Peterson's Journey Shouldn't Have Ended Like This
"Today is a sad day,'' U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said in a statement. True enough. It is never supposed to happen this way, to the happy athlete we might remember seeing standing on the podium. Not when he is 29.
Goodbye Jeret Peterson: Former Olympian Teammate Chris Klug ‘Sad to Learn of This Tragedy’
“Speedy was an amazing athlete,” added teammate Emily Cook. “I will always remember jumping alongside him as he pushed the sport, himself and his teammates to be the best. In addition to being the incredible athlete that we all knew, Speedy was a true friend…
Olympic skier Jeret Peterson called 911 before shooting himself dead
Peterson's long-time coach and friend Matt Christensen said: 'Regardless of the amazing stuff he did skiing, it was the stuff he did for other people that was incredible to me. 'A lot of people saw his story and said he must be a wild jackass and a cowboy. He was just the opposite.'
Natalie remembers Jeret 'Speedy' Peterson
"He spoke about battling depression and even had thoughts of suicide. That was always the hardest part for him, just living life. It wasn’t competing. It was living that was hard." Natalie said.
Jeret Peterson, Olympic Skier, Commits Suicide
The skiing community reacted with shock to his death. A true innovator in the sport, Peterson landed the silver in Vancouver with a daring five-twist and three-flip aerial maneuver called the "Hurricane."
Olympian Jeret Peterson Made Me Smile
Jeret "Speedy" Peterson had the kind of smile that you couldn't help but return. He'd flash that grin, and you found yourself, without even considering why, smiling back at him…
US Olympic Skier Jeret Peterson Commits Suicide in Utah
“Today is a sad day in our sport,” Bill Marolt, the CEO of the U.S. ski team, said in a statement Tuesday. “Jeret ‘Speedy’ Peterson was a great champion who will be missed and remembered as a positive, innovative force on not only his sport of freestyle aerials but on the entire U.S. Freestyle Ski Team family and everyone he touched.”
Skier Turned His Life Around but Kept Eyes on Olympic Gold
At the 2006 Turin Olympics, there was no avoiding the spectacle that was Jeret Peterson, the American freestyle aerialist known as Speedy.
Peterson Flows With High Risk-High Reward Life
Peterson said not a day has passed when he doesn't hear something about his ouster from Italy. He doesn't want to downplay it, says he wishes he could have those moments back. But to act like that's the worst jam he's ever been in - well, that wouldn't be true either.
Q&A with freestyle aerials coach Kerry Miller
KM: It’s incredible. He’s always had a tremendous amount of innate ability, he’s always been able to land it when he needs to. That’s his biggest thing, ever since he was a little boy. That’s one reason why he made the [U.S.] team so early is because he could always find his feet.
U.S. Skier Nails the Hardest Trick in Men's Freestyle Aerials, But Flubs the Landing for Seventh Place
By Toheeb Alejo, Scholastic Kids Press Corps
He was hoping that being the first aerialist to successfully nail a hurricane in Olympic competition would win him a medal….
The Lone American Skier | Freestyle skier Jeret Peterson makes the qualifying round in men's aerial
By Toheeb Alejo, Scholastic Kids Press Corps
Monday, February 20—After the qualifying round in the men's aerial event, Jeret "Speedy" Peterson will be the only American representing the U.S. team in the final round.