Who Was Speedy?

On the snow, Jeret "Speedy" Peterson seemed to have it all. Idaho's Olympic freestyle aerial skier competed in three Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in Vancouver in 2010. He inspired a generation of Olympic hopefuls with his death-defying trick, aptly named "The Hurricane." But off the snow, Speedy's family says he struggled like anyone else and eventually succumbed to his lifelong battle with depression and anxiety in 2011.

By Jason Blevins, The Denver Post

Maybe it was a stoic face she was putting on for reporters, but Cook did pause when asked about her good friend Jeret “Speedy” Peterson, the three-time Olympian and silver medalist in the 2010 Winter Olympics who took his life in a remote canyon in Utah in July 2011.

“He would have been bummed I didn’t hit the second jump,” Cook said. “He’s with me. He’s here. I’m positive of that. My mission is to carry on what he started. To continue on with his legacy. To continue to have conversations about mental health … conversations about depression. To get people the help they need.”

Cook said she would remain in aerials in part because of the influence of Peterson.

“He taught us how to be a team and I’m going to teach the younger athletes how to do that, too,” she said. “Man, our future is so good in our sport. These kids are so good at 16, 17 years old and Speedy was too and look at what he did.”

He pays homage to late 'Speedy' Peterson with aerial tricks but hasn't landed spot in Sochi yet

By Lisa Dillman, Chicago Tribune

Regardless of who makes the team, there's little doubt that the members of the men's and women's aerial teams in Sochi will be asked about the impact and legacy of Peterson, the man behind the Hurricane.

In 2011, Peterson took his own life in a remote canyon in Utah. He had battled depression and spoke openly in Vancouver and before the Olympics about his long struggle with drinking and two suicide attempts.

The tight freestyle ski community pulled together to honor Peterson, not only domestically but internationally. Ferguson had traveled the World Cup circuit with Peterson for at least five seasons.

"He was awesome, always having a blast, always having a smile on his face," Ferguson said.

14 Photographs of Peterson, an Olympic freestyle skier, committed suicide in 2011 after battling depression.

When Olympic medalist Jeret "Speedy" Peterson snapped on skis and took a jump, something extraordinary happened. He twisted his body in ways few have. Off the slope, the life of the freestyle skier had twists of its own.

By Devon O'Neil, Powder Magazine

The two worlds gradually merged, and in 1996 he met Speedy, a tough kid from a broken home who would become his “son de facto.” “To see all the hardships Speedy came from and how he came alive as a person, that made me be sure I did this more,” says Miller.

Two years later, Darla Hall was looking for a place for her son Tanner, then a promising teenage moguls skier, to live while he pursued a pro career in Park City. Speedy befriended Tanner, and Miller agreed to take him in. “Kerry was a father figure to Tanner,” says Darla. “He had a huge influence on him.”

During one stretch, Miller had eight kids living with him, including future pros Mike Wilson and Timy Dutton. He shuttled them to and from school in a van. He cooked for them, disciplined them. “Think of Kerry as an uncle, father, coach, policeman and mother—heavy on mother,” says Chris Goepper, Nick’s father. “And he likes the underdog because there’s a lot of people out there who come from means in the ski world, and he likes to try and help the underdog figure out a way to make it.”

By USSA

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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."

"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.

“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…

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.'

"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.

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."

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…

“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.”

At the 2006 Turin Olympics, there was no avoiding the spectacle that was Jeret Peterson, the American freestyle aerialist known as Speedy.

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.

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.

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….

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.

By Emily Faber, Scholastic Kids Press Corps

Sunday, February 19—For four years, U.S. athlete Emily Cook worked to be her very best at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. But her devastating injury while training two weeks before the games put it all in jeopardy. It didn't stop her, though.