Jeret Peterson came to international prominence when he won aeriel bronzes at the World Junior Championships in both 2000 and 2001. He made three US Winter Olympic teams, improving his performance each time and finishing with a silver medal at Vancouver in 2010 when he landed his signature “Hurricane.” Peterson’s biggest title was winning the 2005 seasonal World Cup in aeriels. His 2006 Olympics were marred when he and a friend got into an altercation on the street after drinking, and he was sent home early by the US Olympic Committee. One month later he won his only US Championship. Peterson’s life was beset by problems with alcohol abuse and depression, which he related to a childhood in which he was sexually abused and after he lost his 5-year-old sister to a drunk driving accident. In July 2011 he was arrested in Utah for drunken driving, and the next night took his own life in a remote canyon near Salt Lake City.
United States