Utah ski resort names tow lift after 'Speedy' Peterson
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Jeret "Speedy" Peterson hailed from Idaho, but Deer Valley Resort was a special place for the late freestyle skier.
It's where he landed his trademark Hurricane — three flips and five twists — for a world-record, two-jump score of 268.70 in January 2007.
On Wednesday, Deer Valley officials renamed their unique freestyle aerials tow lift "Hurricane" in memory of Peterson, a 2010 Olympic silver medalist who committed suicide on July 25 at age 29.
Resort officials posted a memorial sign at the bottom of the lift on the eve of the Freestyle World Cup event that begins Thursday.
Friends and family have started The Speedy Foundation in his memory as a nonprofit organization dedicated to understanding mental illness, preventing suicide and fighting stigma through education, research and advocacy.
"As anyone who met Speedy knows, you didn't just know him, you experienced him," said Graham Watanabe, a close friend and U.S Snowboarding athlete.
"It's an honor to be a part of what the family has built — The Speedy Foundation."
Watanabe said the sign in Peterson's honor is an extension of what The Speedy Foundation hopes to achieve.
"We're hoping to never forget Speedy and to extend his vision," Watanabe said. "He suffered from depression and wasn't one to hide from it. He battled it head on and wasn't afraid to let people know it was something that needed to be dealt with and understood. His goals of spreading awareness and advocating for mental illness is something we're embodying with The Speedy Foundation."
Peterson took his life in a remote Utah canyon just days after being cited for drunken driving in Hailey, Idaho.
Freestyle skier Emily Cook alternated Wednesday between tears and laughter as she thought about Peterson.
"He was like a brother to me, one of my best friends in the world," said Cook, who won't compete this week because of a lingering calf injury.
"I watched him go through a lot trying to land that trick. I watched him land on his eyeball, do too many twists, too few twists and finally get it right, here at home. That was pretty special. Around every corner in this place is a memory."
Peterson earned the highest-ever aerial score when he landed his signature jump at Deer Valley on Jan. 11, 2007.
Bob Wheaton, Deer Valley president and general manager, unveiled the green sign Wednesday afternoon.
"In everyone's life there's a time when a person comes into your life and is truly memorable," Wheaton said. "For me personally, and for all of us at Deer Valley, Speedy was one of those people. His charisma was unmistakable, his energy was unmatched, and what he did on the field of play was pretty darned incredible. The Hurricane was his favorite trick, he landed it here, so we thought naming the lift that all of the aerialists take to get back up to the top of the run in his honor."
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Read more stories about Speedy from KBOI 2News
It's where he landed his trademark Hurricane — three flips and five twists — for a world-record, two-jump score of 268.70 in January 2007.
On Wednesday, Deer Valley officials renamed their unique freestyle aerials tow lift "Hurricane" in memory of Peterson, a 2010 Olympic silver medalist who committed suicide on July 25 at age 29.
Resort officials posted a memorial sign at the bottom of the lift on the eve of the Freestyle World Cup event that begins Thursday.
Friends and family have started The Speedy Foundation in his memory as a nonprofit organization dedicated to understanding mental illness, preventing suicide and fighting stigma through education, research and advocacy.
"As anyone who met Speedy knows, you didn't just know him, you experienced him," said Graham Watanabe, a close friend and U.S Snowboarding athlete.
"It's an honor to be a part of what the family has built — The Speedy Foundation."
Watanabe said the sign in Peterson's honor is an extension of what The Speedy Foundation hopes to achieve.
"We're hoping to never forget Speedy and to extend his vision," Watanabe said. "He suffered from depression and wasn't one to hide from it. He battled it head on and wasn't afraid to let people know it was something that needed to be dealt with and understood. His goals of spreading awareness and advocating for mental illness is something we're embodying with The Speedy Foundation."
Peterson took his life in a remote Utah canyon just days after being cited for drunken driving in Hailey, Idaho.
Freestyle skier Emily Cook alternated Wednesday between tears and laughter as she thought about Peterson.
"He was like a brother to me, one of my best friends in the world," said Cook, who won't compete this week because of a lingering calf injury.
"I watched him go through a lot trying to land that trick. I watched him land on his eyeball, do too many twists, too few twists and finally get it right, here at home. That was pretty special. Around every corner in this place is a memory."
Peterson earned the highest-ever aerial score when he landed his signature jump at Deer Valley on Jan. 11, 2007.
Bob Wheaton, Deer Valley president and general manager, unveiled the green sign Wednesday afternoon.
"In everyone's life there's a time when a person comes into your life and is truly memorable," Wheaton said. "For me personally, and for all of us at Deer Valley, Speedy was one of those people. His charisma was unmistakable, his energy was unmatched, and what he did on the field of play was pretty darned incredible. The Hurricane was his favorite trick, he landed it here, so we thought naming the lift that all of the aerialists take to get back up to the top of the run in his honor."
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Read more stories about Speedy from KBOI 2News
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