Peter Vidmar is the highest scoring American gymnast in Olympic history. The winner of numerous national and international titles, Peter finished his successful career at the 1984 Olympic Games. As the USA men's gymnastics team captain, he led his teammates to America's first team gold medal with their stunning upset victory over the defending world champions, the People's Republic of China. He went on to win the silver medal in the individual all-around competition (the first American to have won an Olympic All-Around medal), and with a perfect score of 10, he captured the gold medal on the pommel horse. Peter continues to contribute to the Olympic movement today. He serves as the Co-Chairman of the US Olympic Committee Summer Sports Summit, an annual series of workshops designed to prepare America's medal hopefuls to win Gold in future Olympics. Peter has worked for many years as the gymnastics commentator for CBS Sports and ESPN and continues to work as a journalist or broadcaster at each summer Olympics. Peter has served on the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports, the Executive Board of the United States Olympic Committee, and the Executive Committee of USA Gymnastics.
Peter is now a powerful and entertaining speaker at corporate meetings and trade shows. With 2 decades of experience helping people throughout the country to realize their own potential, Peter does much more than just speak about his experiences. In his inspiring, humorous, and entertaining presentations, he also performs portions of his Olympic routine on the pommel horse to drive home his message. He demonstrates the three components of a perfect score in gymnastics - Risk, Originality and Virtuosity (ROV) - and discusses how they apply to success in business and in life. His message brings something unique and refreshing to the corporate arena.
Article Download: Finding the Inner Strength
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Speech Topics
Motivation — ROV... Risk, Originality and Virtuosity
In his powerful keynote presentation, Peter converts Olympic Gold into corporate wisdom. With a live demonstration on the pommel horse, artfully blended into his speech, Peter uses the ROV principles to vividly describe requirements for a perfect 10 in business and in life. Audiences gain fresh perspectives on reaching higher levels of performance, using their creativity to separate them from the competition, and perfecting their needed skills on a daily basis. As Peter says, "If you want to be at your best when it really matters, you've got to be at your best every time." Humor, relevance to his audience, high energy, drama and standing ovations are all characteristic of this presentation.
Teamwork — Getting your Team on the Podium
Gymnastics, while a team sport, is based entirely on a collection of individual performances for it's outcome. At the Olympic Games, while he was competing with his teammates, Peter was simultaneously competing against them for individual medals. So how did these athletes work together on a daily basis for the benefit of the team? Using the ROV principles, Peter answers this important question, describing the tools he and his teammates applied, every day, to reach the top of the Olympic Podium, both as a team and as individuals.
Innovation — Pushing The Envelope
One of the reasons gymnastics is the most watched event of the Olympic Games is that the viewer can always expect something new and different from the athletes. Gymnasts are masters at pushing the envelope, as they constantly try to reinvent their athletic art form. Innovation also involves some risk, and Peter shows how the judging category of ROV: Risk, Originality, and Virtuosity, became a mandate for constant change in his sport. In describing how we need to stop playing catch up with the competition, Peter says, "A perfect 10 just a few years ago may only score an 8.5 today. If I don't innovate, I'll be left behind very quickly!"
