Jeret "Speedy" Peterson (December 12, 1981 – July 25, 2011) was an American World Cup aerial skier from

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, skiing out of

Bogus Basin Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area is a ski area in the western United States, located in Boise County, Idaho, north-northeast of the city of Boise. Bogus is operated by the Bogus Basin Recreation Association, a non-profit organization, on pr ...

. A three-time Olympian, he won the silver medal at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. Peterson was found dead by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

in Lambs Canyon, a remote canyon between

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

and

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. Most of the city is within Summit County, Utah, Summit County, with some portions extending into Wasatch County, Utah, Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is sou ...

on July 25, 2011. The cause of death was determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Athletic career

Through the 2006 season, Peterson had won four World Cup events in aerials, and a total of nine World Cup podiums. His best season was 2005, with three World Cup wins and three seconds. With the help of these six strong placings, he took the 2005 World Cup season title in aerials. He finished in sixth place for the 2006 season. A member of three Olympic teams, he participated in the 2002 Games in

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(placing 9th) and the 2006 Games in

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. In the finals of the 2006 aerial competitions, Peterson was in third place after the first round, but fell to seventh place after the second jump, when he failed to solidly land the difficult "Hurricane" maneuver, which involves five spins and three somersaults. The following day, February 24, 2006, he was dispatched from the Games after a drunken altercation during a post-competition celebration. U.S. Olympic official Jim McCarthy said, "This type of conduct is irresponsible and will not be tolerated. Like every athlete, Jeret had an opportunity to represent himself, his sport, and his country in a positive manner. He chose to do otherwise, and because of his unacceptable actions, his Olympic experience is ending early." A month after the Olympics in Italy, Peterson won the 2006 U.S. National Championships at Killington,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. He was an alumnus of Timberline High School in

, and was one of the six athletes featured on the Week 6 episode of '' The Biggest Loser: Couples 3''. After a tumultuous four years on and off the snow following the 2006 Olympics, Peterson made a career comeback and in January 2010 was named to the U.S. Olympic freestyle team for the

. Entering the Olympic finals in fifth place, he successfully landed his signature "Hurricane" maneuver (5 twists, 3 flips) to win the silver medal.

Death

On July 25, 2011, Peterson was found dead in Lambs Canyon, Utah. The cause of death was determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Three days previously, Peterson had been arrested for driving while intoxicated. He was still reeling from the suicide of a friend named Trevor Fernald, who had

killed himself Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or acad ...

in front of Peterson in 2005, also from a self-inflicted gunshot. Peterson also had problems with alcohol and depression and admitted he had his own thoughts of suicide, stemming from

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

and the death of his sister, Kim, who was killed by a drunk driver in 1987. A few days after Peterson's death, Utah law enforcement released a recording of the 911 call that Peterson made just before he committed suicide. In it Peterson told the dispatcher that he was going to kill himself and that he wanted the police to come and get his body. Peterson's death was discussed in ''The Weight of Gold'' (2020), an HBO Sports Documentary which "explor(es) the mental health challenges that Olympic athletes often face."

Results

*1999 U.S. Junior National Championships – Gold – Aerials *2000 World Junior Championships – Bronze – Aerials *2001 World Junior Championships – Bronze – Aerials *2001 Junior Freestyle Skier of the Year – by Ski Racing magazine *

2002 Olympic Winter Games The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international winter multi-sport event that was he ...

– 9th place – Aerials *2002 World Cup season – 22nd place – Aerials *2003 World Championships – 6th place – Aerials *2003 World Cup season – 8th place – Aerials *2004 World Cup season – 16th place – Aerials *2005 World Championships – 12th place – Aerials *2005 World Cup season – 1st place – Aerials *

2006 Olympic Winter Games The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

– 7th place – Aerials *2006 World Cup season – 6th place – Aerials *2006 U.S. National Championships – GOLD – Aerials *

2010 Olympic Winter Games The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

– SILVER – Aerials

References

External links

*
Men's Journal.com
- ''The Rebirth of Jeret Peterson'', Aimee Berg - Feb 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Jeret 1981 births 2011 suicides 2011 deaths Male suicides Olympic silver medalists for the United States in freestyle skiing Olympic freestyle skiers for the United States Freestyle skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Freestyle skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Freestyle skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics American male freestyle skiers Sportspeople from Boise, Idaho Suicides by firearm in Utah Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Child sexual abuse in the United States 21st-century American sportsmen