![]() ![]() Although Harding would continue to deny any involvement, Gillooly would confess on January 27 that he orchestrated the assault and would also implicate Harding, Eckhardt, Stant and Smith. January 27, 1994: Gillooly confessesĪs the mastermind behind Kerrigan's attack, Gillooly would later surrender to the FBI four days later after a warrant was issued for his arrest. At the same time, the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) deliberates on whether Harding should compete in the Olympics and ultimately decides that she is allowed to since - aside from her repeated denials of being involved in Kerrigan's attack - no evidence has emerged to contradict her claims. Kerrigan tries her best to remain positive at a press conference after a number of the criminals were formally charged. January 14, 1994: Kerrigan holds a press conference ![]() January 12, 1994: Eckardt confessesĪfter an FBI investigation is launched into Harding's bodyguard, Eckhardt, on January 12, Eckardt confesses to his involvement in the attack and incriminates Stant, Gillooly and Smith, who was the driver of the getaway car. Still, in support of Kerrigan who had to forgo the competition due to the attack, her fellow skaters offered her a spot to compete in the Olympics as well. Figure Skating Championships and is guaranteed a spot at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway - just as she had hoped. Tonya Harding pumps her fists as she finishes her gold medal-winning program at the women's championship on January 8, 1994 Unfortunately for Kerrigan, her injury was severe enough that she was forced to pull out of competing in the national championships the following night. The following day on January 7, newspapers plastered Kerrigan's traumatized face on their covers as she screamed out in tears, “Why? Why? Why? Why me?”įortunately for Kerrigan, the injury left her with just bruises – no broken bones. Hired hitman Stant clubs Kerrigan's right knee and cameras were able to capture the immediate aftermath. January 6, 1994: Kerrigan is attackedįast forward three years later, and Kerrigan becomes the victim of Harding and Gillooly's lust to win. Harding also became the first American woman to perform a triple axel successfully in a competition that year. The following month, she was triumphant again, winning silver to Kerrigan's bronze at the ISU World Championships in Germany. ![]() ![]() Figure Skating Championships in Minneapolis, MinnesotaĪ peek into their long-standing rivalry, Harding beats Kerrigan at the 1991 U.S. Kristi Yamaguchi, Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan and Tonia Kwiatkowski on the podium at the 1991 U.S. February 14, 1991: Harding defeats Kerrigan The crime had all the machinations fit for a tabloid soap opera, which was most recently depicted in the 2017 dark comedy I, Tonya.Įxplore our photographic timeline of the infamous scandal. Thus, fierce competition and the lust for fame and fortune were the motivations behind taking Kerrigan down, bringing together a stranger-than-fiction motley crew of amateur hooligans. (Though she didn't admit it at the time, Harding later confessed in 2018 that she "knew something was up.") Harding's desperation to win at all costs prompted Gillooly to set up the attack. So how was Harding involved? Kerrigan was her longtime rival - the one person in the way of her making the Olympic team. He, along with his uncle Derrick Smith, were contracted by Jeff Gillooly, the ex-husband of skating rival Tonya Harding, and Harding's bodyguard, Shawn Eckhardt. The hitman was Shane Stant, who used a 21-inch collapsible baton to strike Kerrigan's right leg. On January 6, 1994, Nancy Kerrigan was attacked after practice at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, in what would become one of the biggest sports scandals in history. ![]()
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