10 Photos Telling the Story of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan’s Pre-Olympic Scandal

"Why?"

Published 4 months ago in Wow

Of all the rivalries in sports history, none compared to the pre-Olympic showdown between American figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding.

From the cry heard 'round the world to the final medal ceremony, here are 10 photos telling the story of the infamous 1994 attack on Kerrigan.

1
Feud On Ice
In January 1994, the world of American figure skating changed forever after Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan was attacked with a police baton ahead of the U.S. Championships. Famously crying out "Why? Why? Why?" In the immediate aftermath of the violence, the answer to the athlete’s initial questions were a whole lot messier than likely she — or anyone — realized at the time. The attack, they’d come to discover, had been orchestrated by Jeff Gillooly, the then-husband of Kerrigan’s biggest on-ice rival, fellow skater Tonya Harding.

2
Tonya and Nancy
By the early ‘90s, both Kerrigan and Harding had made names for themselves in the skating community. Growing up in rural Oregon, Harding stood out from her competitors, both for making history as the first woman to land a triple axel in a competition, but also, for her bold approach to the sport. Once dubbed “the bead of raw sweat in a field of dainty perspirers” by reporter Jill Smolowe, her talent on the ice was often overshadowed by her smoking, drinking, and turbulent marriage.

3
‘America’s Sweetheart’
As Harding struggled in the public eye, Kerrigan had transformed into “America’s Sweetheart." Though initially struggling with “missing that ability to relate to the audience,” according to journalist Christine Brennan, Kerrigan became a beloved figure in the sport, garnering several sponsorships around the 1992 Olympics, in which she earned a bronze medal in the Ladies’ Singles competition.

4
The Plan
By late 1993, the skaters were gearing up for the United States Figure Skating Championships when Gillooly, through his friend and Harding’s bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt, paid Derrick Smith a total of $6,500 to attack Kerrigan, specifically striking her on her "landing leg." Smith then tapped his nephew, Shane Stant to carry out the assault.

5
The Attack
After initially trying — and failing — to attack Kerrigan in December 1993, on January 6, 1994, Stant struck the back of Kerrigan’s leg with a telescopic baton after a practice session at Cobo Arena. As he made a getaway — smashing through a glass door on his way to his Smith-driven getaway car — the skater sat sobbing, clutching her knee. Suffering severe bruising, Kerrigan was forced to withdraw from the U.S. Championships.

6
Kerrigan’s Response
"It was one bad guy and I'm sure there's others because this kind of thing has happened before in other sports,” Kerrigan said at the time. “Most people are worried about me, wondering what happened. Those are the people that I want to tell I'm okay.” And ultimately, she was. Kerrigan was ultimately offered a spot on the team as she continued to heal.

7
The Rise and Fall of Tonya
As Kerrigan sat out the Championship, Harding rose the ranks, placing first in the competition ahead of Michelle Kwan and Nicole Bobek. This success, however, was short-lived as less than a week later, several people were arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack, including Eckardt, who immediately told authorities that Harding played a role in the assault.

8
A Near Lawsuit
Though Harding has maintained that she didn’t know all the details of the attack before the strike heard 'round the world — “I knew that something was up,” she told ABC in 2018, noting that she overheard chatter of “maybe we should take somebody out so we can make sure she gets on the team” – she ultimately confessed that she learned about the ploy in the aftermath of the assault. Skating authorities initally looked into suspending her, however the threat of a $25 million lawsuit kept her on the team.

9
An Icy Showdown
With both Kerrigan and Harding on the Olympic team, the pair left it on the rink at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, where Kerrigan nabbed a silver medal. “I can't have any disappointment, that part's up to judges and I skated great,” she said of her performance. “Considering where I was a month and a half ago, it's unbelievable.” Meanwhile, Harding landed in eighth place after a mishap with the laces of her skates.

10
Skating On
While Kerrigan continued on with millions of dollars worth of endorsement deals, Harding agreed to a plea deal for conspiracy to hinder prosecution. She received a lifetime ban from the United States Figure Skating Association. Even so, Harding — whose version of the incident appeared in 2018’s “I, Tonya” — still says she isn’t to blame for the attack. "I have apologized so many times, she is not worthy of my time anymore," the ex-skater recalled. "I proved my innocence, yet people still think I was involved."