By Michael C. Lewis

| The Salt Lake Tribune

Deer Valley • For most people, winning a gold medal at the Olympics would represent the ultimate achievement.

But Hannah Kearney is not most people.

Photos

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At a glance

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Visa Freestyle International

Deer Valley Resort

Thursday » Men’s and women’s moguls finals, 8 p.m.

Friday » Men’s and women’s aerials finals, 7:45 p.m.

Saturday » Men’s and women’s dual moguls finals, 7 p.m.

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Memorial for Speedy

Freestyle skiers on the U.S. Ski Team honored late teammate Jeret “Speedy” Peterson on Wednesday by naming the chair lift that carries them to the top of their course at Deer Valley after him.

“I certainly have a lot of memories of being here with Speedy,” aerialist Emily Cook said.

A three-time Olympian who won a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with his signature move, the “Hurricane,” Peterson committed suicide in Lamb’s Canyon last summer after battling depression. A sign memorializing him and his world-record score set at Deer Valley will be posted near the bottom of the lift.

Friends and family have established The Speedy Foundation to raise money in support of education and research to understand mental illness and prevent suicide. Find it online at TheSpeedyFoundation.org.

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The American moguls skier who took gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games has been on a mission to prove to herself that she can be the best not just on a single day but day after day after day after day. And look at the results — Kearney has won a record 12 consecutive World Cup events heading into the Visa Freestyle International that begins Thursday at Deer Valley Resort.

"Just unbelievable," said Todd Sherman, the U.S. moguls coach. "Incredible season."

Kearney will aim for lucky win No. 13 on the course where she suffered her last loss, to Canada’s Jennifer Heil in the 2011 Freestyle World Ski Championships. But Heil is retired now, and Kearney is motivated anew.

"Redemption!" she said with a smile at a news conference Wednesday.

Kearney isn’t the only one hauling a winning streak into the event.

Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury has won five straight men’s moguls World Cups — Americans Jeremy Cota and Patrick Deneen will try to upend him — while China has three of the top four ranked women aerialists and three of the top five men.

American Emily Cook will not compete due to injury.

Kearney said that when she won the Olympic gold, "I felt like I was on top of the world. It was a dream come true. But I just won on one day, and I didn’t feel like I’d proven to myself that I was the best."

So when will she feel satisfied?

"Never," she said, only half-jokingly. "I said I would retire as soon as I felt like I couldn’t get any better — either because I was physically limited or because I didn’t want to. And neither of those is the case at the moment."

mcl@sltrib.com

Twitter: @MCLTribune