And what a payoff. He came in second that night, but hardly felt like a runner-up. July 26, pm. Jeret Peterson celebrates his Olympic silver medal in the men's freestyle aerials final at the Vancouver Olympics. Over the next months and years, he began telling his story. But the stats and the medals were only a fraction of the story.
Share This Article. It was October of in Colorado Springs. Olympic Team press junket at which we and other media outlets had the opportunity to interview many of the athletes set to wear the red, white and blue at the Winter Games the following February in Turin, Italy.
Speedy was on the docket as well. He hoped to get the chance to give it a try in Turin. Later that night, after grabbing dinner with some co-workers, I made my way back to the hotel and stopped at the bar for a drink. My co-workers and I saw Speedy and a couple of friends sitting in a corner, and we went over, re-introduced ourselves and joined them. Our group chitchatted for a couple of hours, discussing the upcoming Games, what the pressure was like up at the top of the ramp waiting to jump and about how little the Olympic athletes were paid.
He was fun, incredibly kind and friendly and just seemed like a good, down-to-earth guy. And there was some bitterness and sadness underneath the happy-go-lucky exterior. Several months later in Turin, Speedy came out with a vengeance, and I was happy to follow along and root him on from afar.
After his first jump in the final round, he was in third place—medal contention. All he needed was a solid jump on his second attempt to earn a place on the podium. Fail, and his high-risk decision would forever be second-guessed. He could opt for an easier trick, but easy had never made sense to Peterson. He skied down the ramp confidently, raised his arms in the air and took off. Goodbye, gold medal.
Hello, seventh place. The year-old had been cited for drunken driving last Friday in Hailey, Idaho, and had pleaded not guilty. Police said a suicide note was found near Peterson's car; they declined to reveal what it said. He was just the opposite. Peterson was in floods of tears when he secured silver at the Vancouver Games in 25 February At the Winter Olympics in Turin, he was sent home early after a minor scuffle with a friend in the street after finishing seventh.
Peterson later explained that while in Italy he was still reeling from the death of a friend, who shot himself in front of him months before.
The skier had problems with alcohol and depression, and admitted having thought about killing himself, stemming from a childhood in which he was sexually abused and his five-year-old sister was killed by a drunk driver. Peterson gained his nickname as a young boy because the big helmet he wore reminded his coaches of the cartoon character Speed Racer. As his career progressed, he became better known for his signature jump, the Hurricane — five twists packed into three somersaults while vaulting off the ramp and flying 50ft 15 metres in the air.
0コメント