It was a cry heard around the world.
At the January 6, 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships — marking its 30th anniversary in 2024 — champion American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was brutally clubbed in the knee just a month before the Winter Olympics, leaving her unable to compete.
It is later revealed that fellow US figure skater Tonya Harding’s ex-husband (Jeff Gillooly) and bodyguard (Shawn Eckardt) worked together to hire someone (Shane Stant) to attack rival figure skater Kerrigan. Although Harding long disputed her involvement, she was eventually convicted of obstructing an investigation into the incident. She received three years of probation, 500 hours of community service and a $160,000 fine — and was eventually banned from the USA Figure Skating Association for life.
Although three decades have passed, the ordeal has remained infamous in pop culture, including a reappearance in the 2017 biopic starring Margot Robbie as the combative Harding.
I, Tonya2017 TIFF
So where are Harding and Kerrigan these days?
Nancy Kerrigan
Andreas Altwein/AP
Before the 1994 attack, Kerrigan was already an Olympic medalist, taking bronze at the 1992 Games in Albertville, France. Despite the injury, Kerrigan famously went on to compete at the 1994 Games in Lillehammer, Norway, where she won a silver medal.
She was later inducted into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2004 and even served as a special correspondent during several Olympic Games.
Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty
Kerrigan returned to the spotlight in 2017, competing in season 24 Dancing with the stars (and so on Winter bachelor games next year). The married mother-of-three – who danced alongside Artem Chigvintsev – made it to week seven of the popular TV competition.
“It’s fun to do something new, to have a new challenge. I thought it would be really exciting,” Kerrigan told ABC in 2017 about wanting to join the series.
RELATED VIDEO: Figure Skating Star Nancy Kerrigan Opens Up About Her 6 Miscarriages
And while she enjoyed the experience, Kerrigan, now 54 — who also opened up about her six miscarriages — told PEOPLE in 2017 that her family will always be her number one focus: “My job is to be with my kids after school and ask them how their day was.”
Tonya Harding
AP Photo/Jack Smith
Harding came from a blue-collar background, raised in rural Oregon, and was just a 21-year-old rising star heading into the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Although Harding has consistently denied her involvement in the scandal, she admitted in a 2008 PEOPLE profile, “Of course I feel guilty about what happened.”
“But I can’t stay,” she added. “I have to go on living.”
Life after the scandal proved difficult for Harding, now 53. According to a 2008 profile, Harding was arrested twice — once for DUI — and once attempted suicide. She also released a video of herself having sex with Gillooly and appeared on Fox Celebrity boxing in 2002, running against Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee who sued former President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment.
In 2010, Harding married Joseph Jens Price. The couple had a son the following year, Oregonian reported. Her friend Don Horn told the newspaper at the time: “She always wanted a child. She was told she could never have a child…and guess what? It’s really a miracle and she’s really very happy.”
Harding reappears in public from time to time. After release I, Tonya In 2017 — which portrayed her story in a sympathetic light — the athlete decided to openly challenge the incriminating portrayals she faced over the years.
“The media condemned me for doing something wrong before I did anything,” she told ABC in 2018. Truth and Lies: The Tonya Harding Story. “I’ve always been a bad person. Is this a challenge from the Lord to see how far I can be pushed until I break down and become nothing? You can’t push me that far anymore, because I was nothing and I’ve been nothing several times.”
However, her relationship with Kerrigan never improved.
Jen Lowery/Splash
Kerrigan told ABC in 2017 that she saw Harding at an event in 1998, but they did not speak to each other. She also noted that she never received a “direct” apology from Harding.
But Kerrigan asked, “Does it matter at this point?”
However, women have their similarities. Like Kerrigan, Harding competed in the sports edition DWTS in 2018, partnered with professional Sasha Farber — where she came in third place, losing to Adam Rippon. The following year, she won the 16th season The Worst Chefs in America: Celebrity Editionearning $25,000 for the charity of his choice, St. Mary’s Children’s Research Hospital. Judas.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education