The legendary story of Tonya Harding captures her rise to fame and abrupt fall from grace.
Known as the first American woman to land a triple axel in competition, she is considered one of the most controversial figure skaters in American history, according to her biography on olympics.com.
Harding's notoriety was established following the scandal involving Nancy Kerrigan, her main rival during the 1994 Winter Olympics. A conspiracy aimed at eliminating Kerrigan from competition spiraled out of control. Plotted by her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and his accomplice Shawn Eckardt, the assailant Shane Stant struck Kerrigan with a metal baton above the knee to eliminate her from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
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Following the scandal, Harding found herself in a difficult position with the public and the skating world, leading to her forced resignation from the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) as part of her plea deal for her role in the attack on Kerrigan.
Figure skater Tonya Harding of the United States competes in a figure skating competition circa 1992. (Focus on sport)
Who is Tonya Harding?
Harding's life is often viewed through the lens of two distinct eras: before the incident on January 6, 1994, and after the infamous attack on Kerrigan. Harding discovered her passion for ice skating at the tender age of 3, and demonstrated an undeniable talent that led her to be coached by former “Ice Capades” star Diane Rawlinson at the insistence of her mother LaVona Golden.
He won his first competition at age 5 and completed his first triple jump at age 8, according to the Olympics website. He quickly made his mark with the triple axel, his signature move.
Harding's competitive career was on the rise. In 1986, she placed sixth at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, according to Encyclopedia.com. In 1989, she placed third, according to the Olympic Games website. In 1990, she won the Skate America competition.
(The incident, as well as Tonya Harding's life, was dramatized in the 2017 film, “I, Tonya,” starring Margot Robbie, right.)
The crowning achievement of Harding's career came when she successfully landed the triple axel for the first time in competition at the 1991 U.S. Championships.
She repeated the move at Skate America, setting two world records, according to her ABC.com biography for “Dancing with the Stars,” a reality show she and Kerrigan would appear on after 1994.
Tonya Harding, left, and Nancy Kerrigan were competing for a spot on the U.S. Olympic figure skating team at the time of Kerrigan's attack in 1994. (VINCENT AMALVY/AFP via Getty Images)
Harding's victory at the 1994 U.S. Championships would qualify her for a spot on the Olympic team, only to have her title revoked by the USFSA amid the Kerrigan scandal.
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Physical abuse had been a major part of her life, from an early age by her mother to domestic abuse by her husband.
The 1994 Olympics and the Nancy Kerrigan incident
As figure skaters were preparing for the 1994 Winter Olympics, an unprecedented attack left Kerrigan injured above the knee with a police-style baton. This happened just as film crews were finishing filming her practice session.
After the 1994 attack, a widely circulated video of Nancy Kerrigan showed her crying and asking, “Why?” Some media reported that she said, “Why me?” (NY Daily News via Getty Images)
“There was a cameraman right behind her, so I had to get behind the cameraman,” the attacker later told Inside Edition. “I was probably a foot and a half behind him. I knew once he put the camera down and walked away, it would go off.”
Immediately after the attacker smashed the glass doors and drove away in a car, camera crews began filming again as Kerrigan screamed: “Why? Why? Why?” Some sources claim she says: “Why? Why me?”, such as the New York Daily Mail.
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Aftermath of the attack on Kerrigan
Due to the injury, Kerrigan did not compete at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Despite being unable to participate, the USFSA named her to the 1994 U.S. Olympic team.
Although Harding was not the one who physically attacked Kerrigan, she was quickly implicated as a suspect in the attack on her figure skating rival. Once details began to emerge and confessions were made, Harding became the center of attention for her involvement in the attack, quickly gaining notoriety leading up to the Olympics.
“I knew this would stay with me for the rest of my life.”
Following interviews, the FBI discovered that Gillooly and Eckhardt had initiated the attack. The attacker, Stant, was assisted by his uncle, Derrick Smith, who acted as an accomplice.
Tonya Harding finished eighth at the 1994 Olympics. She later received a lifetime ban from the U.S. Figure Skating Association after pleading guilty to hindering the prosecution of her attackers. (David Madison/Getty Images)
Harding initially denied involvement in the attack, but later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution. This offense means he was aware of the details of the crime but failed to alert authorities.
The result of the 1994 Winter Olympics
Harding was allowed to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics, despite being stripped of her 1994 U.S. Champion title. The judges allowed her to skate again after an unfortunate incident with her shoelace, an essential element to success in figure skating. After her second attempt, she finished in eighth place, according to the Oregonian's 1994 article “1994 Winter Olympics: Tonya Harding Finishes Eighth in Women's Figure Skating.”
At the 1994 Olympics, the judges granted Tonya Harding a chance to restart her skate and gave her time to fix it. Her performance was affected by the incident and she finished in eighth place in the women's singles competition. (Clive Brunskill/ALLSPORT)
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Kerrigan finished in second place, securing a silver medal, symbolizing her resilience.
Life after skating for Tonya Harding
Once Harding was banned from competing in figure skating, she recovered and began a boxing career. During her boxing career, from 2003 to 2004, she had three wins and three losses, according to the Olympics website.
The incident involving the figure skaters was documented on ESPN’s “The Price of Gold” in 2014 and in the 2017 film “I, Tonya.” The film focused on Harding’s early life and the abuse she endured as the figure skater pursued her dreams, depicting the emotional toll her mother’s parenting strategies took on her. “I, Tonya” was written by Steven Rogers and stars Margot Robbie as Tonya and Allison Janney as LaVona, her mother.
Tonya Harding was a contestant on the 26th season of “Dancing with the Stars,” a special edition for athletes. The season aired in 2018. (Entertainment content via Getty Images)
Harding divorced Gillooly in 1993 and married Michael Smith in 1995, a marriage that lasted until 1996, according to biography.com. She currently lives in Washington with her third husband, Joseph Jens Price. They have one son, Gordon. The end credits of “I, Tonya” indicate that she wants the world to know that she is a good mother.
Stant served his time in prison and experienced a significant personal transformation. He shared his story about his conversion to Christianity during his incarceration with media outlets such as Bleacher Report and expressed to “Inside Edition” a sense of gratitude for the time he spent in prison that catalyzed this life change.
“I hope {Kerrigan} understands that I regret what I did and that I am a different person.”
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Jeff Gillooly, Tonya Harding's ex-husband, pictured, and his bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt, hired Shane Stant to carry out the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. (CHRIS WILKINS/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Good Housekeeping and other accounts, after being released from prison in 1995, Gillooly changed his name to Jeff Stone. He is now a car salesman and lives in Oregon with his current wife, according to an interview with Deadspin. He also has two children with his ex-wife, who committed suicide in 2005 after a battle with drug addiction.
