The True Story Behind Nancy Kerrigan’s Career

But this all changed when something terrible happened to Nancy on January 6, 1994. On that day, she was preparing for the 1994 Winter Olympics. During a practice session, she jumped off the ice and, while walking down the hall in Cobo Arena, she was attacked with a blow to her right knee with a police baton.

There was so much controversy and conspiracy surrounding this specific attack because clearly, it was not accidental. It was claimed that someone did it intentionally to hurt Nancy. There was immediate speculation with a fellow figure skater on the United States Olympic team: Tonya Harding.

Tonya was suspected of having a part in the entire attack. Due to this speculation, this is when the case went to the media, and that is why so many people are aware of this incident. The controversy made Nancy Kerrigan one of the most famous Olympians despite not being the best figure skater who won the most medals. Still, because of the scandal, everyone knows who he is, especially during the 90s.

Tonya Harding had a reason: Nancy was her biggest competition for the Olympics, and it showed throughout the conspiracy theory about it. People knew that Tonya viewed Nancy as a threat, so they assumed she had something to do with it.

It only took a couple of months to solve the case, which was good for Nancy because she deserved to know what happened to her. They started by simply drawing pictures of the suspect, which helped.

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On January 11, 1994, the FBI began investigating an accusation. Tonya's bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt, and her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, orchestrated Kerrigan's attack. The next day, Eckardt confessed to the FBI that he was implicating himself, Tonya Harding, Jeff Gillooly, Shane Stant, and Derrick Smith. Authorities arrested Eckardt and Derrick, charging them with conspiracy to commit assault in the second degree. Later, it was discovered that Shane was the one who hit Nancy.

A couple of days later, figure skating officials decided that Tonya Harding could compete in the Olympics. After meeting with investigators, she declared her innocence and denies everything to this day.

The following month, Tonya's ex-husband pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 24 months in prison. On February 25, Nancy Kerrigan recovered seven weeks after being struck in the knee. Nancy won the Olympic silver medal in Norway, while Tonya finished in eighth place without a place because she did not get a medal.

On March 16 in Portland, Tonya pleads guilty to conspiracy. However, she still denies her involvement to this day. In addition, she was put on probation for three years and was fined $ 160,000. Tony also had to resign from the American Figure Skating Association. On June 30, Tonya is stripped of her 1994 national figure skating title and is expelled for life from the American Figure Skating Association.