Peter Vidmar

  • Performance Expert
  • Highest Scoring American Gymnast in Olympic History
  • Chairman of the Board of USA Gymnastics
  • Commentator for CBS Sports & ESPN

Peter Vidmar is the highest scoring American gymnast in Olympic history. The winner of numerous national and international titles, he 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 ever 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, captured the gold medal on the pommel horse.

Peter continues his commitment to the Olympic movement today as the Chairman of the Board of USA Gymnastics, the national governing body of gymnastics in the United States.  He has served 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; and serves as a USOC Olympic Ambassador, helping to prepare all of America’s athletes on working with the media and to represent the United States with character and respect.

Peter has also worked as the gymnastics commentator for CBS Sports and ESPN. Peter has served on the President's Council on Physical Fitness, Sports & Nutrition; serves as the Vice Chair of the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports; is the Vice President of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games; serves in his hometown as Vice President of the Orange County Youth Sports Foundation; and is Chair of the Los Angeles "Ready, Set, Gold!" Program.

Peter is one of only three athletes inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame twice; first as an individual, then as a member of the historic 1984 USA men’s gymnastics team. He is also the author of Risk, Originality, and Virtuosity: The Keys to a Perfect 10.

Peter is a powerful and entertaining speaker at corporate meetings and trade shows. With over two decades of experience for hundreds of corporations and professional associations, Peter has helped people throughout the country realize and fulfill their own potential. In his inspiring, humorous, and entertaining presentations, Peter discusses the three components of a perfect score in gymnastics - Risk, Originality and Virtuosity (ROV) - and how these principles apply to success in business and life. Peter’s message brings something unique and refreshing to the corporate arena.

 


Peter Vidmar headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • Paul Mitchell Schools
  • FASTSIGNS International, Inc.
  • Association of Destination Management Executives
  • Sabre Holdings
  • Hilton Hotels
Rave Reviews About Peter Vidmar as a Speaker
I do want to make a special point to acknowledge Peter Vidmar's performance. He was perfect -- genuine, passionate, dynamic and obviously, very skillful. He really drove our key message home perfectly. On a personal note let me also say that I have never (I mean never) worked with a more gracious and sincere speaker as Peter. He not only did a great job fulfilling his speaking obligation, he spent the entire evening with our team at the bowling alley and then stuck around late in the evening talking to everyone in the lobby. And, late in the evening when I was speaking with three managers I sensed someone off to my side -- it was Peter -- he was patiently waiting for me to finish speaking to once again say thank you. Again, I have NEVER met anyone so genuine and gracious as Peter. Thank you! We will use him again.

Keynote clip - Gold Medal Performance [10:07] - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Peter Vidmar
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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 pers ...

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.

Margins of Victory: There's No Silver in Sales

The Olympic experience serves as a great allegory for human aspirations. Scoreboards, stopwatches, measuring tapes, and concrete identifiable results make it easier to quantify the human experience and distinguish what works from what doesn’t. However, there is one important difference between the O ...

The Olympic experience serves as a great allegory for human aspirations. Scoreboards, stopwatches, measuring tapes, and concrete identifiable results make it easier to quantify the human experience and distinguish what works from what doesn’t.

However, there is one important difference between the Olympic Games and the business world. When it comes to sales, there is no silver medal for second place. Either the customer purchases your product or service, or your competitor’s. Second place might as well be last place. And the decision to purchase from someone else may have been based on the smallest item or detail. So it is vital your sales team understands the value of the little extra effort, the critical importance of attention to details, and what this could mean to your company’s success.

With over 25 years of experience presenting to the world’s top companies, double Olympic gold medalist Peter Vidmar will teach your sales force that if you want to achieve a “perfect 10” for the customer, you need to think, plan, and prepare like an Olympic champion.

Why an Olympic champion? There were approximately 10,500 athletes at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and 302 gold medals were awarded. With approximately 6.675 billion people in the world, the odds of being an Olympic athlete are 636,000 to 1. But to win gold is an astounding 22 million to 1. Just like an Olympic gold medalist, you want your sales team to rise above the competition, no matter what the odds are.

In Peter’s thought provoking program, attendees will:

  • Relive stunning moments of Olympic victories by the smallest of margins
  • Learn to apply the key elements of those victories to their sales efforts
  • Understand the critical value of having a laser-like focus on the details
  • Acquire an Olympian’s motivation to consistently give that little extra effort
  • Discover strategies for doing business in new ways to attract new customers
  • Commit to “deliver on the promise” they make to customers
  • Unleash the power of Olympian visualization techniques to achieve long term success

This program is designed for your sales team to walk away with specific tools and techniques, to assist them in their long term plans and achieve world class results. As with all of Peter’s programs, he incorporates real-life examples, humor, and stories, so his key messages are memorable, actionable, and the audience walks away with a renewed spirit.

Getting your Team on the Podium

Gymnastics is a team sport where the outcome is based entirely on a collection of individual performances. Asks Peter, "At the Olympic Games, while I am competing with my teammates, I am simultaneously competing against them for the individual medals. So how do we work together on a daily basis for ...

Gymnastics is a team sport where the outcome is based entirely on a collection of individual performances. Asks Peter, "At the Olympic Games, while I am competing with my teammates, I am simultaneously competing against them for the individual medals. So how do we work together on a daily basis for the benefit of the team?" Using his ROV principles, Peter describes the tools his team needed to apply, every day, to reach the top of the Olympic Podium, as a team and as individuals.

 

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 requires some ris ...

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 requires some risk, and Peter discusses and shows how the judging category of ROV: Risk, Originality, and Virtuosity, has become 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!"

"Awaken the Olympian Within” Interactive Workshop

On Your Mark...Get Set...Gold! Today’s meeting planner is looking for a novel approach to providing inspiration and life lessons to their meetings and conferences...and America’s Olympic champions are the perfect heroes to help them accomplish this task! Peter Vidmar joins forces with other Olympian ...

On Your Mark...Get Set...Gold!

Today’s meeting planner is looking for a novel approach to providing inspiration and life lessons to their meetings and conferences...and America’s Olympic champions are the perfect heroes to help them accomplish this task! Peter Vidmar joins forces with other Olympians to produce a highly interactive "mock-Olympics,” guaranteed to add FUN and ENTHUSIASM to your agenda.

By facilitating a collection of competitive activities that do not require athletic skill, but do involve a steady hand, quick reactions, rational thought, group dynamics, following directions and innovative thinking, participants learn attributes about teamwork, tenacity, lateral thinking, problem-solving skills, performance under pressure, risk-taking and resource allocation; as well as demonstrate the Olympic spirit of fair play, sportsmanship, and tenacity to overcome adversity.

Local Olympic athletes help Peter coach your team to building a higher level of trust and understanding, increasing productivity at the office, and developing new ways of thinking. Workshops can last anywhere from 2-8 hours and include all necessary Olympic "equipment” (flags, music, attire and even a genuine Olympic torch), as well as provide the option of Olympic themed prizes or awards for winning teams.

Each program is specifically customized to the needs of the group and attendees will:

  • Work alongside various Olympians, "up close and personal”
  • Participate in fun challenging exercises with a purpose
  • Be inspired by Olympic music, themes and a medal ceremony for the winners

Let America’s heroes motivate and inspire your people to "Awaken the Olympian Within!”

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Books by Peter Vidmar
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Biography

Peter Vidmar is the highest scoring American gymnast in Olympic history. The winner of numerous national and international titles, he 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 ever 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, captured the gold medal on the pommel horse.

Peter continues to contribute to the Olympic movement today. He is the Chairman of the Board of USA Gymnastics, the national governing body of gymnastics in the United States; has served 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; serves as a USOC Olympic Ambassador, helping to prepare all of America’s athletes on working with the media and to represent the United States with character and respect.

For many years, Peter has also worked as the gymnastics commentator for CBS Sports and ESPN. He continues to work as a journalist, broadcaster, and corporate spokesperson at each summer Olympics. Peter has served on the President's Council on Physical Fitness, Sports & Nutrition; serves as the Vice Chair of the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports; is the Vice President of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games; serves in his hometown as Vice President of the Orange County Youth Sports Foundation; and is Chair of the Los Angeles "Ready, Set, Gold!" Program.

Peter is one of only three athletes inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame twice; first as an individual, then as a member of the historic 1984 USA men’s gymnastics team. He is also the author of Risk, Originality, and Virtuosity: The Keys to a Perfect 10.

Peter is a powerful and entertaining speaker at corporate meetings and trade shows. With over two decades of experience for hundreds of corporations and professional associations, Peter has helped people throughout the country realize and fulfill their own potential. In his inspiring, humorous, and entertaining presentations, Peter discusses the three components of a perfect score in gymnastics - Risk, Originality and Virtuosity (ROV) - and how these principles apply to success in business and life. Peter’s message brings something unique and refreshing to the corporate arena.