Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding Story Revisited 20 Years Later

Twenty years ago, Nancy Kerrigan (above) famously fought back from injuries sustained in an attack connected to her teammate and rival Tonya Harding.

Both Kerrigan and Harding have sought to leave the past behind them, living their normal lives two decades since the assault on Kerrigan that nearly derailed her 1994 Olympics. While leaving a training session prior to the U.S. figure skating nationals, Kerrigan was struck viciously on the knee by a friend of Harding’s then-husband. Harding went on to win the national competition in Boston.

“I really don’t look back unless someone asks me to look back, and then I have to,” Kerrigan told USA Today Sports about the sporting saga. “Otherwise, why would I? I was attacked.”

After the attack, Kerrigan was able to rehabilitate her injured leg in time to compete at the Winter Olympics in Lilehammer, Norway. Both Kerrigan and Harding competed in the women’s short program on Feb. 23, 1994, which compelled nearly half of the nation to tune in and watch the drama reach its climax. Kerrigan ultimately won the silver. Harding, whose skate lace broke during her routine, ended up in eighth.

“I didn’t ask for the special podium people put me on,” Kerrigan said. “I was put in the spotlight, and people looked at everything I did. I didn’t ask for that, any of that. I think some people were [implicating Tonya] before we left nationals. I was like, ‘Come on, that’s ridiculous.’ Then when we started to hear that it was in fact true, it was hard to put it in my brain. It was absurd and crazy, and I didn’t get it. Why would someone do that? What did I do to her? Nothing.”

Kerrigan now lives in Boston with her husband, agent Jerry Solomon, and their three children. Harding, meanwhile, lives with her third husband Joseph Jens Price in Oregon, where they're raising a three-year-old son.

“It was 20 years ago and I don't remember lots and lots of it,” Harding told USA Today. “I know it was a horrible time for everyone involved. It was a bad streak, going through all the crud, and I was able to rise above it. I think Nancy and I have good lives now.”

– Chelsea Regan

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