It is with great sadness that Full Tilt Team Member Jeret “Speedy” Peterson, a three-time Olympic aerialist who won a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver games, died Monday night the 25th of July in what Utah police believe was an act of suicide. Peterson 29, had gone through some difficult experiences and publicly battled alcohol addiction and depression.
Peterson picked up the nickname Speedy, for Speed Racer, as an 11 year old training in Lake Placid, New York. In 2004, he pioneered a complicated, five-rotation jump called the Hurricane, the same maneuver that would later net him the Olympic silver in Vancouver. Peterson was the victim of sexual abuse as a child, and had witnessed a close friend commit suicide in 2005. He called Utah police around 9 P.M. on Monday to inform them of his location and intent to take his life. Peterson’s achievements, said United States Olympic Committee chief Scott Blackmum, “were an inspiration to people all over the world.”
Read more at CNN
Take a moment to watch this tribute to Speedy
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