11/04/24
July 27, 2011
U.S. Olympian Skier Commits Suicide: Jeret "Speedy" Peterson, who won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in freestyle skiing, was found dead in a remote Utah canyon after committing suicide. Peterson, 29, was cited for drunken driving Friday in Idaho. He battled alcohol and depression and was troubled by being sexually abused as a child. When he won his medal, Peterson said, "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. There's light at the end of the tunnel and mine was silver and I love it."
I find Bill Marolt's response hypocritical in the extreme, given the cowardly and contemptible way he scraped Peterson off his shoe. But then, Marolt has long since established his credentials as a contemptible coward who will happily throw his best athletes under the bus.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:16 PM on July 27, 2011
Truly a sad day for US Skiing. Sometimes the demons are just too strong or there just isn't enough people to reach out. RIP Speedy.
posted by OneArmedBandit at 11:32 AM on July 28, 2011
That's terribly sad. Wish he could have gotten help for his demons and been able to enjoy his successes.