Attack on Nancy Kerrigan

On January 6, 1994, American figure skater and reigning national champion Nancy Kerrigan was attacked in an incident that became known as “The Whack Heard ’Round the World.” Clubbed near her right knee after a practice session for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Kerrigan suffered a cut and bruises that left her unable to compete. By the time she had recovered and made it to the Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games, her skating rival Tonya Harding was suspected of having a role in the plot to knock Kerrigan out of competition. The world was waiting and watching for what would happen next.

Timeline: The assault of Nancy Kerrigan

January 6, 1994: The Whack Heard ’Round the World. Kerrigan’s attack occurs one day before she is set to compete in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships—a competition that will determine who represents the United States in the 1994 Winter Olympics. Walking toward the locker room after a practice session at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Kerrigan is accosted by a large man dressed in black who hits her near her right knee with a metal baton. The attacker flees, and Kerrigan is left screaming on the ground: “Why? Why? It hurts so much. Why me?”

January 8, 1994: Harding takes first. The U.S. Figure Skating Championships continue, though Kerrigan is absent because of her injury. First place goes to Harding and second to 13-year-old Michelle Kwan. The United States can send only two skaters to the Olympics, and although Harding and Kwan have technically earned those spots, U.S. skating officials make it clear that Kerrigan will be awarded a spot on the team if she recovers sufficiently to skate.

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January 11, 1994: Under suspicion. The FBI begins to investigate an allegation that Kerrigan’s attack was plotted by Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and her bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt.

January 12, 1994: The bodyguard’s confession. Almost as soon as he comes under suspicion, Shawn Eckardt confesses: He was involved in the attack on Kerrigan. He implicates Gillooly, Harding, and his friends Shane Stant and Derrick Smith. Stant is ultimately convicted of attacking Kerrigan, in exchange for $6,500, with Smith serving as the getaway driver. Smith quickly surrenders to law enforcement.

January 14, 1994: Shane Stant, family man. Stant surrenders to the FBI. Two days later in Phoenix, his grandmother, Mae Loomis, contributes to the media circus by accosting would-be interviewers with a shotgun. Firing a few shots into the air, Loomis asserts, “I’m a gun-toting grandma!”

January 16, 1994: Back on the ice. Kerrigan resumes practice for the first time since the attack. She will need to prove to U.S. figure skating officials that she is well enough to skate in the Olympics. The start of the Games is less than a month away.

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January 19, 1994: Another conspirator caught. Jeff Gillooly surrenders to police after a warrant is issued for his arrest. Though Harding continues to proclaim her innocence, Gillooly’s confession a week later implicates not only himself but also Harding, Shawn Eckardt, Shane Stant, and Derrick Smith.

January 27, 1994: Live on air. Jeff Gillooly’s confession—and his undeniable connection to Harding—makes it more difficult for Harding to separate herself from the case. At a January 27 news conference she admits that she is “responsible…for failing to report things [she] learned about the assault,” though she says she has since rectified her mistake. “I know I have let you down, but I have also let myself down,” Harding says. “I still want to represent my country in Lillehammer, Norway, next month.”

February 1, 1994: Jeff Gillooly guilty. Gillooly pleads guilty to racketeering (involvement in an organized crime) and is sentenced that July to two years in prison and fined $100,000.

February 12, 1994: Harding to compete. After much back-and-forth involving the U.S. Figure Skating Association, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and Harding, an agreement is reached: Harding will skate in the Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games.

February 23, 1994: Kerrigan, Harding take to the ice. Kerrigan and Harding both skate at Lillehammer, to varying results. If the entire episode has seemed like a soap opera up to this point, when Kerrigan and Harding get on the ice, the drama only intensifies. The women first compete in the short program. In the United States an astonishing 70 percent of televisions that night tune in to CBS, which is airing the Olympics. That translates to 110.5 million Americans watching figure skating.

February 25, 1994: Kerrigan medals; Harding cries. Just when it seems that the competition will focus on Kerrigan and her stellar skating, Harding again becomes the center of a spectacle. During the free-skate portion, Harding notices a problem with a lace on one skate and—sobbing—appeals to the judges for a chance to restart her program. They acquiesce, but Harding finishes eighth at the event. Kerrigan wins the silver medal, narrowly missing the gold, which is won by Oksana Baiul of Ukraine.

March 16, 1994: Harding pleads guilty. A day before she is scheduled to compete in the World Figure Skating Championships, Harding pleads guilty to charges of hindering the prosecution in the Kerrigan assault case. Harding is sentenced to three years’ probation and 500 hours of community service, and she is ordered to pay $160,000. She will not spend time in prison.

May 16, 1994: Sentencing begins. After pleading guilty to second-degree assault, Shane Stant and Derrick Smith are each sentenced to 18 months in prison. Two months later, Shawn Eckardt begins his 18-month sentence for racketeering.

June 30, 1994: Harding banned. Harding’s longest-lasting punishment comes from the U.S. Figure Skating Association, which bans her from participation in the organization and strips her of the 1994 U.S. title. The ruling means that Harding’s career on the ice, whether as a performer or coach, is over.

May 18, 1995: Harding makes Seinfeld. A 1995 Seinfeld episode spoofs the Harding-Kerrigan scandal in an episode guest-starring Bette Midler. (When George injures Midler during a softball game, Jerry’s new girlfriend gets the chance to perform as her understudy in a Broadway musical.) The episode is one of many instances of the assault being satirized in popular culture: Comedy Central, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and Saturday Night Live beat Seinfeld to it, with parodies that aired in 1994.

January 9, 2004: The U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Kerrigan, at the time one of only five American women to medal in two Olympic Games, is inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. “What’s nice about being inducted in the Hall of Fame is that I’m being recognized for the skating,” Kerrigan tells CBS News, “as opposed to being a victim.” About the same time, Harding is attempting a career as a celebrity boxer.

December 8, 2017: I, Tonya. Unlike the spoofs on SNL and Seinfeld, later attempts in pop culture treat the Harding-Kerrigan saga with more nuance. The 2017 mockumentary I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie as Harding, emphasizes her relationships with her allegedly abusive mother (played by Allison Janney, who wins an Academy Award for the role) and Jeff Gillooly (played by Sebastian Stan). It also digs into the difficulties Harding faced as an athlete “from the wrong side of the figure skating tracks”—a description that appears in her official Olympic Games biography. Harding, whose story was optioned for the project, says she loves the film, describing it to The New York Times as “magnificent.”