Olympic silver medalist Jeret “Speedy” Peterson was found dead in a remote canyon in Utah in what police are calling a suicide.
Peterson, a freestyle skier who patented the so-called “Hurricane” and took second place at the Vancouver Games with it, called 911 before shooting himself, police said. The 29-year-old had been cited for drunken driving Friday in Hailey, Idaho, and had pleaded not guilty.
Officers found Peterson late Monday night between Salt Lake City and Park City in Lambs Canyon. Police said a suicide note was found near Peterson’s car; they declined to reveal what it said.
He was one of the most colorful of athletes, and he wore his heart on his sleeve — never more than on Feb. 26, 2010, when he walked off the mountain with tears streaming down his face after taking the silver medal.
“I know that a lot of people go through a lot of things in their life, and I just want them to realize they can overcome anything,” Peterson said that night. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel and mine was silver.”
Peterson, who witnessed a friend commit suicide before the Turin Games, had problems with alcohol and depression, all stemming from a childhood in which he was sexually abused and lost his 18-year-old half sister to a drunken driver.
The Associated Press
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an Associated Press error, the
age and relationship of a family member killed by a drunken driver was incorrect.
Peterson’s half sister was 18 at the time of her death.
