Speedy doubles down on 'Hurricane'

Have you ever strolled up to a Las Vegas blackjack table, sat down and quickly won a clean $100 dollars before getting a sudden wallet-preserving impulse to get up from the table immediately?

It's a slightly ambivalent but mostly gratifying feeling, knowing that you put your own self-discipline to a difficult test.

Just don't ask American aerialist Jeret 'Speedy' Peterson to get up from the table with you.

His own real-life blackjack exploits aside (and he once hit six figures during a legendary run at Treasure Island in Las Vegas), Peterson is the ultimate freestyle gambler.

Four years ago in Torino, he was in position to win a medal after his first of two jumps in the aerials final. But instead of executing a safe jump, he opted for his signature quintuple-twisting triple flip known as the "Hurricane." Peterson touched the ground on the landing and finished seventh.

But to hear him explain that decision prior to this season, it was evident that Peterson had positively no regrets. "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."

On Thursday night, after his first attempt, Peterson sat in fifth place. Just like four years ago, a safe but clean jump would have put him in likely position for a medal.

So naturally, he gambled.

Peterson's Hurricane, as always, was mesmerizing - it had the highest degree of difficulty of any jump in the final - and this time, he landed it (then understandably celebrated like a madman).

Ultimately, it didn't quite net Peterson gold, as Alexei Grishin of Belarus had a cleaner first flight to edge the American by 1.2 points.

Obviously, that small margin has to sting somewhat. But the look on Peterson's face when he was in first place and the look after he had been bumped to second were actually quite similar.

And when you think about it, that makes sense. After all, Peterson doesn't live to obsess over every single point and accolade he can get. Rather, he throws himself off a ramp as the most surefire way to bring his relentless philosophy to life.

-Matt Stroup