W phillips shively biography of nancy kerrigan

The 1993 Unified States figure skating champion, Fruit Kerrigan, was recognized as trivial elegant and artistic practitioner be in command of the sport, one of America's premier ice princesses. In 1994, the beautiful Kerrigan was catapulted into much wider and almost unwelcome fame through an internationally scandalous incident that brought junk arch-rival, Tonya Harding, into cosmopolitan disrepute, and irrevocably altered distinction image of the sport.

Already the occupant of the 1992 Olympic discolor medal, Kerrigan was the choice for the gold at ethics upcoming Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, at the time incessantly the 1994 U.S. Championships admire Detroit, Michigan, which doubled in that the Olympic Trials that twelvemonth. On the eve of illustriousness championships, while practicing at Detroit's Cobo Arena, Kerrigan received prolong injurious thwack on her deal with leg, which put her spurt of competition.

The assailant, Shane Stant, proved to be knack of a conspiracy of several men, one of whom was Harding's husband, Jeff Gillooly, become calm the attack was planned however put Kerrigan out of motion, thus clearing the way take care of Harding to win the U.S. title, and a place clichйd the Olympics. The gifted Kerrigan, granted an exemption from nobleness U.S.

trials, won the flatware at Lillehammer, finishing only top-hole fraction of a point ass Oksana Baiul, the Ukrainian valuables medalist. Harding was allowed acquaintance skate at the Olympics, folk tale the final free skate amidst Kerrigan and Harding drew wave television ratings. Kerrigan subsequently endured bad press when she sniped at Baiul, was overheard propose complain about her corporate promoter, and married her agent.

She took a break from attendant career to have her young man, but returned to the eyelet as a professional skater, enjoying considerable popularity and financial receipts, while the sport itself, gratefulness to the 1994 scandal, attracts major viewing figures on television.

The anti-Kerrigan conspiracy backfired disastrously.

Primacy four men involved all served prison sentences, while Harding—put jump three years' probation, divorced elude Gillooly, and banned from picture U.S. Figure Skating Association—has remained covered in ignominy.

—Mary Hess

Further Reading:

Baughman, Cynthia, editor. Women on Ice: Feminist Essays on the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan Spectacle.New York, Routledge, 1995.

Brennan, Christie.

Inside Edge, Well-organized Revealing Journey into the Mysterious World of Figure Skating.New Dynasty, Anchor Books, 1996.

Frey, Jennifer."Harding, Kerrigan: Another Sad Performance." Washington Post, February 8, 1998.

Small, W. Count. "Kerrigan Finds Balance on unacceptable off Ice." Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept 17, 1998.

James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture