Olympian Jeret 'Speedy' Peterson Carried Traumas to His Death, Experts Say

July 27, 2011 — -- Jeret "Speedy" Peterson was the only Olympic skier who could pull off his gravity-defying signature jump -- the Hurricane. The breathtaking aerial move consisted of five twists and three somersaults at more than 50 feet in the air. The jump never failed to draw wild cheers from awestruck spectators.

This jump won Peterson a silver medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics on Feb. 25, 2010. Exactly 17 months later, to the day, 29-year-old Jeret "Speedy" Peterson died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Utah canyon.

The death was unexpected for those who knew the famously kindhearted athlete with a twinkle in his eye and a genuine but mischievous smile.

But behind that smile and his passion for a risky sport was a lifetime of painful and traumatic events that psychologists said likely stayed with him through both personal and professional highs and lows.

Peterson had spoken publicly about his struggles with alcohol, depression and suicidal thoughts. He had been the victim of sexual abuse as an infant, which his mother later told him about, turning him into an activist for sexually abused children. He also lost his 5-year-old sister in an accident involving a drunken driver.

"When you've had trauma in the past, like the loss of a sibling or sexual abuse in your history, those things are always part of your life story, and other stresses can bring them to the foreground, while good times can push them to the background," said Nadine Kaslow, chief psychologist and professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University.

Months before the Turin Olympics in 2006, a friend of Peterson's committed suicide in front of him. Peterson came in seventh place in Turin and was sent home early from the games for getting into a brawl with a friend after a night out celebrating with the team.

"If you know someone who has committed suicide, it does increase your risk of committing suicide," Kaslow said. Other risk factors include substance abuse, childhood traumas, depression and loss, all of which Peterson experienced. Kaslow said that these risks could be managed through good social support, coping skills, religious or spiritual involvement, or therapy.

"Here is a guy who's had traumas etched into his memory and obviously caused him problems throughout his life," said Josh Klapow, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

In 2010, Peterson said that he had stopped drinking. But last Friday, he was arrested outside Hailey, Idaho, for drunken driving. He pleaded not guilty.