Known as "Speedy" due in part to his unwillingness to wait in line at a ski camp as a youngster, Jeret Peterson has finished in the top-three of the World Cup aerials standings three of the past four seasons. The Boise, Idaho, native is on course to make his third Olympic appearance in Vancouver.
What is the Hurricane and how did you come up with the name?
Exactly what a Hurricane is is three flips and five twists. On the first flip I will do one twist. On the second flip I do three twists. And on the third flip I will do one more twist, for a total of five. The way that I came up with the name Hurricane was actually, I was doing a trick, and at the time the technical name for it was full triple full full. And after I had done a couple of them, one of my coaches came up to me and he was like: "So, how did it feel?" And I looked at him, and I was like: "That felt like I was stuck in the middle of a Hurricane," because I really did not see anything.
Do you have any regrets about attempting the Hurricane on your final jump in Torino and finishing seventh instead of playing it safe and winning a medal?
I don't want to win a gold medal and only have given 92 percent. I'd rather end up seventh, like I did in Torino, and give 110 percent, because at the end of the day I walk away knowing that I gave everything that I had and I can walk away and be content. Could you imagine if I decided to go step down to an easier trick and I was only giving 90 percent and I ended up second? I couldn't live with that. I would definitely have to know that when I'm done, medal around my neck or not, that I gave everything I had. If everything clicks, I'd just beat everybody by a mile, and that's what I'm looking for.
There's a memorable story about you and freestyle teammate Nate Roberts winning $400,000 playing blackjack in 2005. Made any trips to Vegas recently?
No, no. Actually the funny thing is I won a bunch of money in Vegas and I invested it all into real estate and everybody knows where the real estate market went. I ended up having to declare bankruptcy [in November 2008]. I lost both of my houses and lost all of my toys. I lost my truck. I'm back to zero. I don't even have a car. So it comes and goes.
How hard has that been?
It's really difficult from having the lifestyle that you really wanted to not having all of the toys and being able to go on vacation, but honestly I'm happier now than I was a couple of years ago. I've definitely realized what makes me happy and why I am the way I am.
Do you have a map laid out for the road back?
No. Money's never really been an issue for me, as far as paying bills and that kind of stuff. I don't do this sport for money. That's not at all why I'm involved in it. I do this sport because I love it. I know I'm not going to make a million dollars being in this sport. I do it because every single day I get to go out and I get to ski and I get to do as many flips and as many twists as I want. That's what wakes me up in the morning.
Do you envision the Vancouver Games matching the intensity and excitement of Salt Lake?
Oh, without a doubt. Without a doubt. Canadians period absolutely love winter Olympics. They love it. And people love how crazy our sport is. There's not many events where you can watch people huck themselves into the air and try to land.
Is your mindset different approaching your third Olympics than it was going into your first and second Olympics?
Completely different. I'm at a totally different point in my life. For the Salt Lake Olympics, first of all I wasn't even supposed to make the team. That happened through the team selection criteria, with Emily [Cook] getting hurt and me taking her spot. I was a long shot to begin with, so for me to end up ninth I was really excited. In Torino, I expected nothing less than to win. So it was somewhat of a disappointment for me. Not somewhat. It was a disappointment to end up seventh. I'm not happy with my result, but I am happy with the fact that I knew I gave everything. This next Olympics, I'm definitely a lot more humbled going into it, but at the same time I'm more confident. I'm not saying that, "Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to win. I'm definitely going to win," but I'm taking every necessary step to prepare myself to win.
Compiled by Matt Stroup, NBCOlympics.com
