![]() She failed to land her first jump, then started crying and told judges she’d broken a lace during warm-up, which caused her to skate badly. On the other end of the scale, Harding totally choked. Kerrigan, at the peak of her popularity due to the added weight of public sympathy, had the best skate of her career and took home the silver medal. That women’s figure skating event remains one of the most-watched events in sports history, largely thanks to international interest in Harding and Kerrigan’s bitter rivalry. In a pointed move, Kerrigan chose to wear the same white lace dress she had on when she was clubbed in the knee - and thanks to the infamous post-attack video, everyone knew it. The horrific moments before and after the attack were caught on tape, and the world would soon be able to witness the shocking scene as Kerrigan lay on the ground in agony, crying and screaming, “Why?” Kerrigan was preparing to leave the Cobo Arena ice rink after training when she was viciously assaulted by a stranger, who targeted the kneecap on her landing leg. Harding and Kerrigan had squeezed in their final practice the night before the US Women’s Championships - a competition which would decide who would represent America in the Winter Olympic Games that year. It was a typically chilly evening in Detroit on January 6, 1994. ![]() On the ice, Kerrigan was often dressed in Vera Wang - and Harding in outfits she’d made herself. Thanks to her attractive features and charming media presence, she’d managed to rake in huge amounts of money through sponsorship deals with major brands like Campbell’s, Revlon and Reebok. It made headlines around the world, and old wounds are again being ripped open as we near the release of I, Tonya, a new biopic starring Margot Robbie and Caitlin Carver, telling the sordid tale of a dangerous rivalry that would end up defining two careers.īut while Harding may have had a slight skills edge, the public adored Kerrigan. Jeff Gillooly was charged with hiring a hitman, while Harding, 23, was found guilty of conspiracy after the fact. The shocking crime was made all the more twisted when it emerged that the culprit was the ex-husband of Kerrigan’s ice-skating rival, Tonya Harding. It was a calculated attack, aimed at crippling Kerrigan and dashing her Olympics hopes ahead of the national championships. In 1994, the world reacted with horror as images of America’s ice-skating sweetheart Nancy Kerrigan flashed across our screens, showing her screaming in pain in the moments after a mystery assailant attacked her with a baton. IT WAS one of the biggest scandals in sporting history - a tale so steeped with intrigue, that 23 years on, it’s inspired a major Hollywood movie.
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