Amy Peterson

Amy Peterson competed in five Winter Olympics Games, including 1988 when short-track was only a demonstration sport, winning three medals, and was honored by carrying the US flag at the 2002 Opening Ceremony. In 1989 Peterson won the 1,000 and 1,500 at the US Olympic Festival, placing third in the 500. After the 1994 Winter Olympics she developed chronic fatigue syndrome, which affected her training, but she still made the 1998 US team. She recovered nicely, winning all four distances at the 2000 US Short-Track Championships, and in 2001 she won her eighth overall US Championship. Peterson retired after the 2002 Winter Olympics, graduating from St. Paul’s Concordia University, and began coaching. She made a brief comeback in 2004-05, but failed to make the 2006 US Winter Olympic Team. Her uncle, Gene Sandvig, competed in long-track speed skating for the United States at the 1952 and 1956 Winter Olympics.