Athlete Bios
Freestyle skiing- Aerials
Peterson: thriving on thrill of danger
Last Updated: Monday, February 8, 2010 | 1:12 PM ET
New York Times for CBC Sports
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United States aerialist Jeret Peterson was asked to leave the athlete's village at the Turin Olympics in 2006, after police said he punched a friend in the face. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) Jeret Peterson is a freestyle aerials skier for the United States. Known as someone who thrives on the thrill and danger of freestyle skiing, his nickname is Speedy.
Peterson’s first Olympic appearance came at the 2002 Salt Lake Games. He earned a spot on the team when his friend Emily Cook was injured and could not compete. He wrote, “Hi Emily,” on his gloves, which he showed to television cameras during the Olympic broadcast. He finished ninth in Salt Lake City and was the overall World Cup champion in 2005.
Peterson finished seventh at the 2006 Turin Games, where he tried to showcase a jump he called the Hurricane, which includes five twists and three flips.
“I call it the Hurricane because you feel like you’re in a hurricane and can’t see anything,” he said. “Doing it can really make you feel disoriented, but you have to learn how to deal with that.”
In the final round, Peterson executed all of the manoeuvres of the jump in the air, but his hand touched the ground when he landed, lowering his score. He had been in third place before that jump.
His experience at Turin ended when he was asked to leave the athletes’ village after the police said he punched a friend in the face during an argument outside a bar in Sauze d’Oulx.
“Like every athlete, Jeret had an opportunity to represent himself, his sport and his country in a positive manner,” Jim McCarthy, the United States Olympic team’s chef de mission, said in announcing that Peterson had been asked to leave the village. “He chose to do otherwise, and because of his unacceptable actions, his Olympic experience is ending early.”
While Peterson has said he has been lucky with a lack of aerials-related injuries, he has had a few serious ones outside competition. In 1997, he cracked his skull from his right eye to his teeth while jumping from a cliff on his skis.
Peterson has also dealt with personal turmoil throughout his life. He has said he was sexually abused as a child while growing up in Idaho. In 1987, when he was five, his sister, Kim, was killed by a drunk driver. In 2005, his roommate shot and killed himself in front of Peterson. In 2008, he declared bankruptcy after losing money on real estate investments.
