Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding

By Shane and Izzy

Nancy Kerrigan Biography

-She is an American figure skater from Stoneham, Massachusetts

-Born on October 13, 1969

-She has two older brothers

-Her father worked multiple jobs in order to pay for her skating

-She skated at Colonial Figure Skating Club in Boxborough, MA which is

located at Nashoba Valley Olympia Ice Rink

-She is an Olympic silver and bronze medalist, a world silver and bronze

medalist, a U.S. national champion, silver, and bronze medalist

-Was one of the most famous athletes during the 1994 Olympics due to

the attack

-She graduated from Stoneham High School and Emmanuel College

Nancy Kerrigan 1994 Olympic Short Program

Time: 0:40-2:00

Tonya Harding Biography

-She is an American figure skater who was born on November 12, 1970 in Portland

Oregon

-Raised in Vancouver, Washington with her parents and four siblings

-Her family struggled financially but managed to enroll her in skating lessons at

the age of four.

-Tonya immediately impressed her teachers with her natural talent and athletic

ability, and with the help of a series of sponsors she was able to enter skating

competitions. Soon after her parents arranged professional lessons for her.

-Tonya’s family moved thirteen times during her childhood and she dropped out out

high school shortly after she finished her freshman year to focus on her skating

career. But adolescence was spent drinking in bars and smoking cigarettes, and her

parents divorced when she was sixteen

-in 1991 she became the first American woman to land a triple axel in a competition

-Won several medals in the USFSA ladies championship, a silver medal in the World

Figure Skating Championships of 1991, and came in fourth place in the Albertville

Winter Olympics

Tonya Harding 1991 Long Program at U.S. Nationals

Time: 0:11-1:00

Background

-Nancy Kerrigan was America’s new favorite figure skater and was

predicted to beat Tonya Harding in the 1994 Winter Olympics in

Lillehammer, Norway

-Tonya was afraid that Nancy would beat her, because this would end the

brief fame that Tonya was having.

-The attack happened two days before U.S. nationals in a Detroit ice rink

-After the attack and back in the U.S, Harding pleaded guilty to

conspiracy to hinder the prosecution of Kerrigan’s attackers. She was

fined $100,000, sentenced to probation with 500 hours of community

service, and was banned from competing in future olympic games

The Attack

-On January 6, 1994 in Detroit, Michigan Nancy Kerrigan was

attacked

-She was clubbed in her right knee by a police baton

-She was assaulted by a hitman that was hired by Harding’s ex-

husband to hurt Kerrigan so she would be unable to compete at

nationals and Lillehammer

-The incident is known as the “whack heard around the world”

The Attack Video

Primary Source

"It's a shock," said Claire Ferguson, president of the

United States Figure Skating Association. "I hope she's

O.K. It isn't a happy time for any sporting event."

What is the significance?

-The attack against Nancy Kerrigan,

according to Editor & Publisher, was the

fifth biggest news item of the 1994

calendar year.

-It was also considered “the most

dramatic moment if figure skating”

according to the Huffington Post

-Ice skating was thought to be a very

graceful and pretty sport, this scandal

showed the not-so-pretty side of it.

Where does the topic fit in?

During the late 1900s there were many political and sports scandals. In

politics there was watergate, the resignation of President Nixon, President

Ford being the first President not elected, and later the Monica Lewinsky

Scandal, and the Impeachment trial for President Clinton. In sports

there were multiple scandals about assaults and drug use. Since the 90’s

were part of what was known as the “drug era” this was not surprizing.

Since this period in time was very turbulent, the Nancy Kerrigan attack

was only one of many scandals that occurred in the 90s.

Where are they now?

-Kerrigan got married in 1995

-In 2004 she was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame

-She appeared in Blades of Glory

-She received the Special Achievement Award at the Tradition

fundraiser at the New England Sports museum

-Kerrigan has three children

-She has appeared in many ice skating exhibitions since the Olympics

-She works with many charities

-In 1994 Harding was banned from U.S. figure skating for

life, she was striped of her national title, was on

probation, was fined, and faced 500 hours of community

service

-She has been interviewed many times about the attack

-She became a wrestler

-She married her third husband in 2010

-Harding has one son

Works Cited

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YouTube, 03 Oct. 2010. Web. 06 June 2016.

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"Google Images." Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2016.

Http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTUun50igClGqyQB_1cPqcA. "Tonya Harding And Nancy Kerrigan: How The

Scandal Changed Olympic Skating." YouTube. YouTube, 07 Jan. 2014. Web. 06 June 2016.

IIIRikaIII. "Tonya Harding Triple Axel." YouTube. YouTube, 17 Jan. 2015. Web. 06 June 2016.

IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 06 June 2016.

Intersport Chicago. "Nancy Kerrigan Attack - Raw Footage and Interviews - January 6, 1994." YouTube. YouTube,

23 Jan. 2014. Web. 06 June 2016.

Longman, Jere. "Kerrigan Attacked After Practice; Assailant Flees." The New York Times. The New York Times, 06

Jan. 1994. Web. 06 June 2016.

"Nancy Kerrigan Bio, Stats, and Results." Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2016.

"Nancy Kerrigan." Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale, 1994. Biography in Context. Web. 6 June 2016.

"PEOPLE.com." PEOPLE.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2016.

"Skater Nancy Kerrigan Attacked." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 06 June 2016.

"Tonya Harding." Gale Biography in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2000. Biography in Context. Web. 6 June 2016.

"USA TODAY: Latest World and US News." USA Today. Gannett, n.d. Web. 06 June 2016.

Yodabeesh. "Tonya Harding 1991 Nationals LP." YouTube. YouTube, 28 May 2007. Web. 06 June 2016.