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Nancy Kerrigan

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Nancy Kerrigan
Kerrigan in 2006
Full nameNancy Ann Kerrigan
Born (1969-10-13) October 13, 1969 (age 55)
Stoneham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)[1]
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
Retired1994
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Ladies' figure skating
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1994 Lillehammer Ladies' singles
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Albertville Ladies' singles
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1992 Oakland Ladies' singles
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Munich Ladies' singles
Winter Universiade
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Sofia Ladies' singles

Nancy Ann Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969)[2] is an American actress and former figure skater. She won bronze medals at the 1991 World Championships and the 1992 Winter Olympics, silver medals at the 1992 World Championships and the 1994 Winter Olympics, and she was the 1993 US National Figure Skating Champion.

In January 1994, Kerrigan was attacked with a police baton by an assailant hired by the ex-husband of her rival Tonya Harding, but she recovered just in time to win a silver medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics. She then started touring, performing with several ice skating troupes including Champions on Ice and Broadway on Ice. In 2017, she was a contestant on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars.

Early life

Kerrigan was born in Stoneham, Massachusetts,[2] the youngest child and only daughter of welder Daniel Kerrigan (1939–2010)[3] and homemaker Brenda (née Schultz) Kerrigan (b. 1939).[2] Her ancestry includes English, Irish and German. She has stated: "There's very little Irish in me, just my name."[4] While her brothers Michael and Mark played hockey, she took up figure skating[5] at age six. She did not start private lessons until age eight and won her first competition, the Boston Open, at age nine.[2]

The Kerrigan family was of modest means. Kerrigan's father sometimes worked three jobs to fund her skating career; he also drove the ice resurfacer at the local rink in exchange for Nancy's lessons.[6] Kerrigan was coached by Theresa Martin until she was 16, then began working with Evy and Mary Scotvold[7] after a brief period with Denise Morrissey. The Scotvolds remained her coaches through the rest of her competitive career.

Skating career

Kerrigan began to reach prominence at the national level when she placed fourth at the junior level at the 1987 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She made an early impression as a strong jumper but was comparatively weak in compulsory figures.[8] She made her senior debut the following season, moving up the national rankings each year: 12th in 1988, fifth in 1989, and fourth in 1990.[9] She continued to be held back by compulsory figures until they were eliminated from competitions after the 1990 season.[10]

1991–1993 competitions

Kerrigan's rise at the national level continued when she placed 3rd at the 1991 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She qualified for the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships, where she won the bronze medal. Her medal was part of the first-ever sweep of the women's podium by a single country at the World Championships, as her teammates Kristi Yamaguchi and Tonya Harding won gold and silver, respectively.[11]

In the 1992 season, Kerrigan again improved on her placement at the previous year's national championships by finishing second. She won a bronze medal (Yamaguchi took the gold) in the 1992 Winter Olympics and earned the silver medal at the 1992 World Championships.[12]

The following season—with Yamaguchi retired from eligible competition—Kerrigan became United States champion, even though her performance was flawed. She admitted that she would have to improve her skating in time for the World Championships.[13] She won the short program at the World Championships in Prague, but had a disastrous free skate that resulted in her tumbling to fifth in the standings.[citation needed] This was followed by an even worse performance at a televised pro-am event, where Kerrigan fell three times, botched the landing of another jump, and appeared dazed and depressed.[14]

Before and after the 1992 Olympics, she had many corporate sponsorship contracts (with companies such as Campbell's Soup, Evian, Reebok, and Seiko)[15] and opportunities to perform professionally, which were permitted after the International Skating Union abolished the earlier strict amateur status rules that had governed eligibility for the sport.[citation needed] In preparation for the 1994 Winter Olympics, she curtailed these activities in order to focus on her training instead. She also began working with a sports psychologist to better handle her nerves in competition.[15][16]

1994 Cobo Arena attack

Further information: Tonya Harding § Attack on Nancy Kerrigan and aftermath

On January 6, 1994 at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, a criminal incident caused Kerrigan to gain international fame far beyond the skating world. As she was walking through a corridor at Cobo Arena immediately after a practice session, Kerrigan was bludgeoned on the right lower thigh with a police baton by an assailant who was later apprehended and identified as Shane Stant. The assault was planned by rival Tonya Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly (1967–)[17] and co-conspirator Shawn Eckardt (1967–2007).[18][19]

The immediate aftermath of the attack was recorded on a TV camera and broadcast around the world.[20] The initial footage shows the attendants helping Kerrigan as she grabbed at her knee wailing: "Why, why, why?" Kerrigan is also seen being carried away by her father Daniel. Although Kerrigan's injury forced her to withdraw from the U.S. Championships, her fellow skaters agreed that she merited one of the two spots on the Olympic team.[21] The USFSA chose to name her to the Olympic team rather than second-place finisher Michelle Kwan, who was sent to Lillehammer as an alternate in the event that Harding was removed from the team.[22]

Kerrigan recovered quickly from her leg injury and resumed her intensive training. She practiced by doing complete back-to-back double run-throughs of her programs until she felt completely confident in her ability to compete under pressure.[16][23] The fame she had acquired from the attack led to further opportunities; it was reported that she had already signed endorsement contracts for $9.5 million before the Olympics began.[24]

Harding denied any involvement in the planning of the attack but pled guilty to conspiring to hinder the prosecution. She received three years probation, was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service, and was given a $100,000 fine.[25] In late 2005, Kerrigan expressed objections to Shane Stant's wishes to have the attack removed from his record so he could join the Navy SEALs, who do not allow anyone with a felony conviction to join. Kerrigan stated in a letter dated November 25, 2005 that "to allow Stant to have the attack removed from his record would not only be an insult to her, but it would send the message that a crime like that can ultimately be swept under the rug". Stant's request had already been denied by a judge, saying that it is against the law to expunge an assault conviction. Furthermore, one must be aged 28 or younger to join, even with no felony convictions; Stant was 34 when he tried to remove the attack from his record.[26]

1994 Winter Olympics

Kerrigan on an Azerbaijani postage stamp, dedicated to the 1994 Winter Olympics
Main article: Figure skating at the 1994 Winter Olympics § Women

The Ladies single skating event at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics at the Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre took place seven weeks after the attack, and Kerrigan skated what she considered to be the best two performances of her life in the short program and free skate.[23] She won the silver medal, finishing second to Oksana Baiul and ahead of Chen Lu, who took the bronze medal as Tonya Harding finished in eighth place amid controversy—Harding had trouble with the laces on her skates and was given a re-skate by the judges. Kerrigan was in first place after the short program but lost the free skate and the gold medal to Baiul in a close and controversial 5–4 decision.[27] CBS Television played up the controversy by portraying it as a Cold War East-West split, singling out German judge Jan Hoffmann in particular for supposed biased judging.[28]

Kerrigan appeared to display dissatisfaction and disappointment with her second place finish. While Kerrigan and Lu waited over 20 minutes for Olympic officials to find a copy of the Ukrainian national anthem, someone mistakenly told Kerrigan the delay in the presentation was because Baiul had cried off her make-up and was getting it retouched. Kerrigan, with obvious frustration, was caught on-camera saying "Oh, come on. So she's going to get out here and cry again. What's the difference?"[29] CBS chose to air the undiplomatic comment. This marked a distinct shift in the way Kerrigan was portrayed in the media, which had been somewhat protective of her image up to that point because of the attack against her.[30]

Kerrigan elected not to attend the closing ceremonies at the Olympics. Her agent claimed this was because Norwegian security had advised her to leave due to death threats that had been made against her, but this was later denied.[30] Instead, she left Norway early to take part in a pre-arranged publicity parade at Walt Disney World, her $2-million sponsor.

1994 Walt Disney World parade

During the Walt Disney World parade she participated in following the 1994 Winter Olympics, she was caught on microphone saying to Mickey Mouse, "This is dumb. I hate it. This is the corniest thing I have ever done."[31] She later claimed her remark was taken out of context: She was not commenting on being in the parade, but rather because her agent insisted she wear her silver medal in the parade. She said showing off and bragging about her accomplishments was something that her parents always taught her not to do. She added that she had nothing against Disney or Mickey Mouse, and: "Who could find fault with Mickey Mouse? He's the greatest mouse I've ever known."[32][33]

Commenting on the media backlash, Mike Barnicle of The Boston Globe said "Now the thing is over so we've got to kill her. That's us [the media], not her."[34] Either because of the bad publicity or her own inclinations, some of Kerrigan's previously announced endorsements and television deals were dropped after the Olympics.[30]

Skating results

International
Event 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94
Olympics[35] 3rd 2nd
Worlds[36] 3rd 2nd 5th
Skate America[37] 5th 2nd
Lalique[37] 3rd 3rd
NHK Trophy[37] 5th
Nations Cup[37] 1st
Goodwill Games[38] 5th
Piruetten[37] 1st
Novarat Trophy[37] 1st
Universiade[37] 3rd
National
U.S. Champ.[39][citation needed] 9th N. 11th J. 4th J. 12th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st WD

Skating honors

Kerrigan was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2004.[40] She was also honored at Ice Theatre of New York's annual benefit gala in 2008.[41]

Vera Wang skating outfits

Kerrigan's Olympic skating outfits were designed by noted fashion designer Vera Wang. Along with Christian Lacroix's designs for Surya Bonaly in 1992, Wang's designs marked a new trend for couture designs in figure skating.[42] Kerrigan's white 1992 free skating costume resembled a wedding dress with sheer illusion sleeves and a basketweave design on the bodice.[citation needed] Kerrigan's 1994 Olympic dresses were also designed by Wang. She wore another white dress trimmed with black velvet bands and sheer black sleeves for the original program, and a champagne-colored dress set with 11,500 rhinestones for the free skate. Wang donated those two dresses to Kerrigan. The value of the white dress was estimated at $9,600 and the crystal-trimmed dress at $13,000.[43]

Post-Olympic skating career

Kerrigan retired from amateur competition after the Olympics. She appeared in a few professional competitions such as Ice Wars, but focused her career on performing in a variety of ice shows.[44] She has appeared in Champions on Ice, Broadway on Ice, and an ice show adaptation of the musical Footloose, among other productions.[45][46]

In 2003, Kerrigan became a national spokeswoman for Fight for Sight.[47]

Television and movies

In the 1994 telemovie ‘Tonya and Nancy: The Inside Story’, she was portrayed by Heather Langenkamp.[48]

In 1994, Kerrigan hosted Saturday Night Live, season 19 episode 15, featuring musical guest Aretha Franklin.

In 1995, Kerrigan had a guest appearance on Boy Meets World in the episode "Wrong Side of the Track."[49]

Kerrigan appeared in the Fox television program Skating with Celebrities (2006) and played a small part in the ice skating comedy feature film Blades of Glory (2007) with Will Ferrell. She hosted Nancy Kerrigan's World of Skating on the Comcast Network starting in 2005 and has done commentary work for other skating broadcasts.[50]

In 2004, Kerrigan sang a cover of "The Best" for a Tina Turner tribute album.[citation needed]

During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Kerrigan served as a "special correspondent" for Entertainment Tonight.[51]

She has written an instructional book on advanced figure skating technique, Artistry on Ice (ISBN 0-7360-3697-0).

In 2014, ESPN aired The Price of Gold, a 30 for 30 documentary about the 1994 attack.[52] On February 23, 2014, NBC aired a documentary during the 2014 Winter Olympics on the incident called Nancy & Tonya.[citation needed]

Kerrigan appeared on an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians in 2017.

On March 1, 2017, Kerrigan was named as one of the contestants who would compete on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev.[53][54] Despite receiving higher judges' scores than Bonner Bolton and David Ross, Kerrigan and Chigvintsev were eliminated during a double elimination in the seventh week of the competition.[citation needed]

In December 2017 a biographical movie about Tonya Harding and the attack on Kerrigan, entitled I, Tonya, was released; Caitlin Carver played Kerrigan.[55]

In January 2018, Kerrigan joined Inside Edition as their super bowl correspondent [56]She also appeared in an episode of "Fresh Off The Boat" as herself.[57]

Personal life

Kerrigan graduated from Stoneham High School and attended Emmanuel College in Boston to study business.[58]

Kerrigan created The Nancy Kerrigan Foundation, which aims to raise awareness and support for the vision impaired. Her mother, Brenda, is legally blind.[59]

On September 9, 1995 — the year after she retired from competition — Kerrigan married her agent, Jerry Solomon. The marriage was her first and his third.[60] They have three children together: Matthew (b. 1996),[61] Brian (b. 2005), and Nicole (b. 2008).[62][63][64] Solomon also has a son from his second marriage.[65] In April 2017, Kerrigan said that she had had six miscarriages while attempting to have her three children. She said miscarriages were "devastating" and "a strain on your marriage".[66]

Kerrigan's father died at age 70 on January 24, 2010.[67] Prosecutors charged Kerrigan's brother, Mark, with her father's death, alleging that the death occurred as a result of a violent struggle between the two over the use of a telephone. Kerrigan called the allegation of homicide unjustified and backed the family's assertion that the death was a result of a long-standing heart condition.[68][69][70] On May 25, 2011, Mark was acquitted of manslaughter but found guilty of assault and battery by a Middlesex County jury.[71] He was sentenced to 2½ years in prison with six months suspended.[72]

References

  1. ^ Kubatko, Justin. "Nancy Kerrigan Biography and Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d "Nancy Kerrigan Biography" Ice Skater, Athlete (1969–)". Biography.com (FYI / A&E Networks). Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  3. ^ "Daniel Kerrigan Obituary – Boston, MA | Boston Globe". Legacy.com. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  4. ^ Harvey, Randy (January 13, 1992). "Coach's Remarks Put Kerrigan on Thin Ice". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ "Nancy Kerrigan", Skating, December 1990, p. 34.
  6. ^ Nancy Kerrigan Releases a Statement Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Nancy Kerrigan", Skating, December 1990, p. 33.
  8. ^ "Excitement Under the Dome", Skating, April 1987, p. 42.
  9. ^ "Nancy Kerrigan", Skating, December 1990, p. 35.
  10. ^ "Compulsory Figures Skate Into History". Chicago Tribune. February 9, 1990. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  11. ^ "Victory in Munich", Skating, June 1991, pp. 29–31.
  12. ^ "Yamaguchi Caps Her Year With World Title". The New York Times. March 30, 1992. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  13. ^ "Kerrigan's chase ends", The Arizona Republic, January 24, 1993.
  14. ^ "Hershey's Kisses Pro-Am Championships Point to the Future with a Past", Skating, May 1993, p. 14.
  15. ^ a b "Reaching for Gold". Skating. December 1993. p. 22.
  16. ^ a b Longman, Jere (February 25, 1994). "Baiul Is Injured In Skating Collision". The New York Times.
  17. ^ https://www.geni.com/people/Jeff-Gillooly/6000000024988211583
  18. ^ "Flashback: Kerrigan and Harding". ESPN. November 19, 2003.
  19. ^ Longman, Jere (February 6, 1994). "FOCUS ON SPORTS; The Whole World Is Watching". The New York Times.
  20. ^ "Nancy Kerrigan Attack – Raw Footage and Interviews – January 6, 1994". YouTube. January 6, 1994. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  21. ^ Longman, Jere (January 8, 1994). "Rivals Agree Kerrigan Rates Olympic Spot". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  22. ^ Poisoned Ice, People, January 24, 1994.
  23. ^ a b The Official Book of Figure Skating, ISBN 0-684-84673-X, p. 174.
  24. ^ Smith, Beverley. Figure Skating: A Celebration, ISBN 0-7710-2819-9, p. 5.
  25. ^ "Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan: Harding found guilty of hindering investigation". OregonLive.com. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  26. ^ McNamara, Melissa (December 2, 2005). "Kerrigan Attacker's Record To Stay". CBS News. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  27. ^ "Ukraine's Baiul Edges Kerrigan For Gold Medal". The New York Times. February 26, 1994.
  28. ^ Scott Hamilton, Landing It, ISBN 1-57566-466-6, pp. 262–264.
  29. ^ Kerrigan's Latest Foe: Her Image, AP, March 2, 1994.
  30. ^ a b c Kerrigan's Off-Ice Spins Create 'Image Meltdown', Chicago Tribune, December 11, 1994.
  31. ^ "Harding, Kerrigan are linked forever by skating incident". Retrieved July 11, 2006.
  32. ^ "More Will Be Heard From Kerrigan". Courant.com (March 7, 1994).
  33. ^ Nancy Kerrigan Looks Back on "Sad" Tonya Harding Scandal, Defends Herself: I Wasn't Whining, TVGuide.com, February 23, 2014.
  34. ^ "The Souring of America's Sweetheart", The Washington Post, March 4, 1994.
  35. ^ "Olympic Results – Medalists" (PDF). usfigureskating.org. U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2007. Retrieved November 28, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ "Worlds results" (PDF). isu.org. International Skating Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 3, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ a b c d e f g "Skate Canada Results Book Volume 2: 1974–current" (PDF). Skate Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  38. ^ "1990 Goodwill Games". Goodwill Games. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  39. ^ "US National Ladies' freeskating final standings 1991–1993". Skate Central. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  40. ^ "Hall of Fame Members". World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 5, 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  41. ^ "Nancy Kerrigan and Ice Theatre of New York celebrate new season", Lifeskate.com, December 1, 2008.
  42. ^ "Two skaters give couture a twirl". The New York Times. February 16, 1992.
  43. ^ Smith, Beverley. Figure Skating: A Celebration (ISBN 0-7710-2819-9), p. 70.
  44. ^ Hamilton, Scott. Landing It, ISBN 1-57566-466-6, p. 270.
  45. ^ Brown, Jessica (2001). "On the Ice With Nancy Kerrigan". Parents.
  46. ^ "Correction: Nancy Kerrigan to appear in "Broadway on Ice"". The Daily Courier (Arizona). December 7, 2007.
  47. ^ Lidz, Franz; Cazeneuve, Brian; Swift, E.M. (June 30, 2003). "The Ice Storm". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on November 18, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  48. ^ https://variety.com/1994/tv/reviews/tonya-nancy-the-inside-story-1200436535/
  49. ^ Venable, Nick. "9 Goofy Boy Meets World Cameos Where The Celebrities (Mostly) Played Themselves". CinemaBlend. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  50. ^ Ibanga, Imaeyen; Brady, Jonann (February 24, 2009). "The Ice Storm". ABC News.
  51. ^ Nancy Kerrigan Parties at the 2010 Olympics, Entertainment Tonight, ETOnline.com, February 15, 2010 (retrieved February 24, 2010).
  52. ^ The Price of Gold at ESPN.com
  53. ^ "'Dancing With the Stars' 2017: Season 24 celebrity cast and partners revealed on 'GMA'". ABC News. March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  54. ^ "Kerrigan Talks About DWTS". thetomorrowshow.com. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  55. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (January 23, 2017). "'I, Tonya' Finds Its Nancy Kerrigan In Caitlin Carver; Mckenna Grace & Bojana Novakovic Also Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  56. ^ Nancy Kerrigan Joins Inside Edition as 2018's Super Bowl Special Correspondent, retrieved January 26, 2018
  57. ^ https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/columnist/criticscorner/2018/01/30/tv-tonight-nancy-kerrigan-fresh-off-boat-detour-flash/1065357001/
  58. ^ "Nancy Kerrigan Biography". biography.com. November 9, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  59. ^ "Newsmaker: Nancy Kerrigan Biography". inforum.com. March 24, 2004. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  60. ^ "Marriages: Nancy Kerrigan, Jerry L. Solomon". The New York Times. September 10, 1995.
  61. ^ "Passages". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  62. ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (April 18, 2005) Skater Kerrigan Gives Birth to Baby Boy – Birth, Nancy Kerrigan. People.com.
  63. ^ Nancy Kerrigan Welcomes Third Child, Icenetwork.com, May 14, 2008.
  64. ^ Brannen, Sarah S.; Meekins, Drew (August 25, 2011). "The Inside Edge: Bradley takes mound for Royals". Icenetwork. Archived from the original on September 25, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  65. ^ Green, Michelle (November 28, 1994). "Skating on Thin Ice". People. Vol. 42, no. 22.
  66. ^ Deerwester, Jayme (April 12, 2017). "Nancy Kerrigan goes public with six miscarriages; 'It's devastating ... You think, 'What's wrong with me?'". USA Today.
  67. ^ http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?pid=138921560
  68. ^ "Kerrigan's dad dies, brother accused of assault". USA Today. Stoneham, Massachusetts. Associated Press. January 26, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  69. ^ Nancy Kerrigan's Brother Charged With Manslaughter in Dad's Death. Foxnews.com.
  70. ^ "Nancy Kerrigan may testify at brother's trial". UniversalSports.com. Associated Press. March 28, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  71. ^ "Jury acquits Nancy Kerrigan's brother in father's death". USA Today. Associated Press. May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  72. ^ "Nancy Kerrigan's brother sentenced to 2½ years". CBC News. Associated Press. May 26, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
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