Olympic candidate Nancy Kerrigan was injured because she was attacked after a practice session at a Detroit ice rink two days before the Olympic trials. Kerrigan was whacked in the back of her knee with a club, causing her to scream out in agony and perplexity.
Tonya Harding was one of Kerrigan’s main competitors for a spot on the US Figure Skating Team.
Jeff Gillooly, Harding’s ex-husband, addressed Shawn Eckardt in mid-December 1993 about eliminating Kerrigan from the competition.
Derrick Smith and Shane Stant agreed to hurt Kerrigan for a price after Eckardt arranged a meeting with them.
FIGURE SKATER NANCY KERRIGAN’S INJURY AND ATTACK VIDEO REVEALED
Figure Skater Nancy Kerrigan was injured because she was attacked after practice at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on January 6, 1994, in what would become one of the most infamous sports scandals in history.
Shane Stant, the assassin, struck Kerrigan’s right leg with a 21-inch collapsible baton. Jeff Gillooly, the ex-husband of skating competitor Tonya Harding, and Harding’s bodyguard, Shawn Eckhardt, hired him and his uncle Derrick Smith.
So, what role did Harding play? Kerrigan had been a lifelong adversary of hers, and the one person standing in her way of making the Olympic squad.
Gillooly set up the attack as a result of Harding’s determination to win at all costs. (Though she didn’t confirm it at the time, Harding eventually admitted that she “knew something was wrong” in 2018.)
Harding then came forward, revealing that she had discovered Gillooly’s participation in the attack after the championships but had not informed the police.
Meanwhile, Kerrigan and Harding have been nominated to the US Olympic squad that will participate in Lillehammer, Norway.
When the US Olympic Committee considered removing Harding from the squad, she launched a lawsuit, which was successful in halting the removal.
WHAT HAPPENED TO NANCY KERRIGAN?
The attack on Nancy Kerrigan is all due to rivalry and jealousy.
As a result, strong competition and a desire for fame and wealth were the driving forces behind the attack on Kerrigan, which drew together a strange-as-fiction motley group of amateur hooligans.
The crime had all the trappings of a tabloid soap opera, as shown most recently in the 2017 dark comedy I, Tonya.
Harding pled guilty in the United States to conspiring to obstruct the prosecution of Kerrigan’s assailants. She was fined $100,000 and ordered to serve 500 hours of community service in addition to probation.
There was never any further proof of Harding’s awareness of the plans prior to the attack except Gillooly’s statement. Gillooly, on the other hand, exacted his vengeance on Tonya by plunging to new tabloid depths and distributing explicit images of the couple having sex on their honeymoon.
