Everything to Know About Tonya Harding
This winter, Margot Robbie will play figure skater Tonya Harding in the new biopic I, Tonya. It's been more than 20 years since Harding made headlines for "The Incident," as they call it in the movie, so here's a quick refresher to help you separate fact from fiction as you watch Margot skate on through to awards season.
BEFORE THE OLYMPICS
Harding was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She began ice skating at age three and dropped out of high school in 10th grade to pursue her skating career (she later got a GED). In 1991, she won her first U.S. Championship, becoming the first woman to land a triple axel in competition. Also in 1991, she won a silver medal in the World Figure Skating Championships, and in 1992, she placed third in the U.S. Championships, earning herself a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
THE 1992 OLYMPICS
Harding placed fourth in competition, behind fellow Americans Kristi Kamaguchi (gold medalist) and Nancy Kerrigan (bronze medalist). She did not qualify for the 1993 World Championships, but in 1994 she made a comeback and won the gold medal at the 1994 U.S. Championships.
THE ATTACK
In January 1994, Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gilooly and her bodyguard Shawn Eckhardt hired a hit man to attack Nancy Kerrigan so that she would be unable to compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics. On January 6, Shane Stant cornered Kerrigan after practice in Detroit and hit her on the leg with a baton. Her leg was bruised and she had to withdraw from the U.S. Championships, but she still qualified for the Olympic team. On February 1, Gilooly agreed to testify against Harding in exchange for a plea bargain. Harding claimed to have no knowledge of the plan to attack Kerrigan, but in March, she pled guilty to conspiring to hinder prosecution of Gilooly and company.
THE 1994 OLYMPICS
Harding competed in Lillehammer despite the media circus surrounding the attack and her possible involvement, but her performance was plagued by problems. Prior to the Olympics, the committee considered removing her from the team, but she filed a lawsuit against them and was allowed to compete (at that point the extent of her involvement in the attack was still a mystery). During the actual competition, Harding interrupted her own free skate because of a broken lace and was allowed to start over.
Harding ultimately placed eighth, and Kerrigan, who had recovered from the attack, took home the silver medal. After pleading guilty to hindering the prosecution of Kerrigan's attackers, Harding was sentenced to probation, community service, and a $160,000 fine, and she was forced to withdraw from the U.S. Figure Skating Association. In June 1994, the association stripped her of her 1994 U.S. title and banned her from all future events as both a skater and a coach.
BOXING
The Kerrigan attack left a stain on Harding's career that made it hard for her to skate professionally, and in 2002, she appeared on the show Celebrity Boxing, boxing against Paula Jones. In 2003, she made her professional boxing debut, but her career in the sport was short - she stopped boxing in 2004 after just a handful of matches.
NOW
In 2014, Harding appeared in an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary about the incident called The Price of Gold and maintained that she did not know of Gilooly's plans to attack Kerrigan. She also broke a land speed record racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2010.
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