For Peterson, Different Kind of Turbulence

Jeret Peterson of the U.S. is considered a favorite in the men's freestyle aerial skiing competition. (By Alessandro Bianchi -- Reuters)

In 1987, he also lost a sister, Kim, who was killed by a drunk driver. He was 5 years old.

"I've definitely not been given a silver spoon," he said. "But I love the hand that I've been dealt and it's something that I cherish. I wouldn't change anything that's happened to me because, like I said, it's built me to the person that I am today. It gives me the fuel to fire my career, to get me amped up about jumping."

Peterson is the defending World Cup aerials champion and the favorite in the men's competition. In a sport wrought with danger and possible injury, he wins primarily because his peers feel more fear than him.

Teammates and friends call him "Speedy." At home in his native Boise he is a calf-roping, tongue- and ear-piercing, double-down, wild-eyed gambler -- taking risks on and off mountains that few others have the gumption to take.

He parlayed $5,000 saved from his job as a clerk in a Home Depot paint department into more than $200,000 during a Las Vegas blackjack binge last summer.

His signature aerials move involves three back-flips and five twists. Watching Peterson spin three revolutions and five human scissors one day while trying to throw the move down, his coach gave it a name.

"It's a hurricane," he said.

"I was like, the Hurricane. That's it," Peterson said.

He plans to execute the move on his final jump, his second during the medal round on Thursday. Peterson knows: He throws down the Hurricane in competition, it's over. And either way, he survived more than one to get here.

Asked if he had every dwelled on his misfortune, Peterson said, "Oh yeah."

"My past is what has made me the person I am today," he added. "It's built my character. I don't regret anything that's happened to me in my life. And if I do come away with a gold medal I don't think I am going to go out and say, 'Hey, look I was an abused child' or anything like that.

"But if it will help other people get over their symptoms and their issues with child abuse, then definitely."

The anger over his molestation, Peterson said, made him moody and violent as a youngster. He became an excitement addict, unable to live an existence close to calm. It wasn't until he began exploring the possibilities of speed and deception on the slopes that he found a way to channel his aggression and negative energy.

From the moment he raced toward a hill, Peterson found the faster he went, the higher he rose, the more difficult the maneuver, the more his heartbreak morphed into hope. The more he skied, the more he bottled everything eating him up inside and let it go.

"It became my release," he said.

The rage. The passion. The feeling of knowing nothing can hurt you but yourself.

They all came out when Peterson put his feet in the binders, dugs his poles deep into the snow, and took flight, high above the terror and confusion.

Freestyle Skiing Men's Aerials Qualifying Top Five, World Cup Standings 1. Kyle Nissen, Canada 2. Dmitri Dashinski, Belarus 3. Warren Shouldice, Canada 4. Ryan St. Onge, U.S. 5. Jeret Peterson, U.S. U.S. Team Eric Bergoust Joe Pack On TV NBC, 9-11:30 p.m.