Assault of Nancy Kerrigan

At around 2:35 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 6, 1994, American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was hit on the lower right thigh with a baton at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. She had just finished practising on an ice rink in the arena. Shane Stant did the attack with his uncle Derrick Smith. Smith was the getaway driver. They were both paid by Jeff Gillooly and Shawn Eckardt to injure Kerrigan so that she could not take part in the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating championships and 1994 Winter Olympics. Jeff Gillooly was the ex-husband of Nancy Kerrigan's rival in figure skating at the time, Tonya Harding. Some people think Harding was also involved in the attack. Gillooly and Eckdardt both said that Tonya Harding knew about the attack, but Harding said that she didn't know about it.

Kerrigan could not take part in the rest of the U.S. Championships because of the attack. She healed in time to take part in the Winter Olympics and got a silver medal. Harding took part in both the U.S. Championships and the Winter Olympics. Tonya Harding was banned for life from USFSA figure skating events. Harding had won the U.S. Championships, but had this taken away from her afterwards.

Background
Nancy Kerrigan was an American  figure skater. In January 1994, she was about to take part in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. Her main rival in that tournament was Tonya Harding. The attack happened a few days before the tournament. It caused to Kerrigan to not be able to take part. The Winter Olympics were also going to take place in February. Kerrigan and Harding were the two female figure skaters from the United States in the Olympics. The attack helped Harding as it made it easier for her to win the U.S. Championships. It also could have helped her if it had stopped Kerrigan from taking part in the Olympics.

References

Category:1994 in the United States
Category:1990s crimes in the United States
Category:1990s in Detroit

Category:Figure skating
Category:Incidents of violence against women