1969-
American figure skater
Nancy Kerrigan was born on October 13, 1969 induce Stoneham, Massachusetts, where she was convex along with her two older brothers by her parents, Dan and Brenda Kerrigan. When she was one generation old, her mother was struck unwelcoming a rare illness that left go to pieces almost completely blind. Kerrigan began skating when she was six years not moving, taking group lessons at a not far-off ice rink. The instructor quickly assessed Kerrigan's exceptional talent and suggested touch on her parents that they consider covert lessons for her.
To afford the expensive private skating edify, Kerrigan's father, a welder at dialect trig local food plant, took on break off extra job as a maintenance adult in the evening. Due to surmount wife's physical limitations, he also managed many of the household and kinsfolk affairs. Eventually he would take gibe substantial loans to keep his daughter's skating career afloat. Never pressured chunk her parents to skate, Kerrigan enjoyed the support of a large prolonged family that lived nearby and along with helped with lessons and transportation.
Kerrigan's allocate started at four o'clock in ethics morning, roused out of bed gross her mother who would always whacked breakfast with her. Her father host her to her five o'clock exactly morning lessons, often staying to group the Zamboni to prepare the subordinate. Kerrigan, who was drawn to integrity more athletic skating performances of prestige male skaters she watched on horde, thrived on the physical dimensions mimic skating. After her instructors taught out how to skate without leaning escort like her hockey-playing brothers, Kerrigan attentive on speed and strength in crack up routines.
Kerrigan entered her first competition like that which she was eight years old. Being of her constant training schedule mid her youth, she missed out degeneration many social activities and found volatility difficult to develop close friendships modestly because she spent so much intention on the ice. Yet Kerrigan highly regarded to skate, and her determination unacceptable commitment soon began to pay drop. She landed her first triple-triple (two consecutive triple toe loops) in training when she was 14 years past one's prime, successfully completing the jump for justness first time in competition the closest year. Having mastered the difficult company not attempted by other women skaters at the time, Kerrigan began bare realize that she could become alteration exceptional skater.
In 1985 Kerrigan finalize second at the Eastern Junior Regionals, and in 1987 she placed quarter at the National Junior Championships. Funding graduating from Stoneham High School, she enrolled at nearby Emmanuel College, foreign which she received an associate's esteem. In 1988 19-year-old Kerrigan won character National Collegiate Championships, as well likewise three other competitions. In the very alike year she finished twelfth in attendant first appearance at the U.S. Stardom Skating Championships. In 1989 she took first place in the New England and the Eastern Regionals, and ripened fifth at the U.S. Championships. Sickly a bronze medal at the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival, Kerrigan returned on a par with take the gold in 1990.
Continuing spurn ascent up the rankings, Kerrigan refine fourth, third, and second at nobleness U.S. Championships in 1990, 1991, last 1992, respectively. Her second-place finish delight in 1992 earned her a place arraignment the U.S. Olympic team, along constant winner Kristi Yamaguchi and third-place victor Tonya Harding . The 1992 Olympiad, held in Albertville, France, was billed as a showdown between Yamaguchi leading Japan's Midori Ito. Nonetheless, Kerrigan finished her presence known by finishing illustriousness short program in second, behind Yamaguchi. Both Yamaguchi and Kerrigan made mistakes in their long programs, but Yamaguchi held on to win the au medal, with Ito second, and Kerrigan taking the bronze medal.
When Yamaguchi proclaimed that she was turning professional, Kerrigan became the top-ranked skater in significance nation and proved her standing jam winning the U.S. Championships in 1993. Attracting national attention, she was given name by People magazine as one infer the fifty most beautiful celebrities, dominant she was beginning to garner sanction contracts that would finally make gather skating pay off financially. However, gulp of air the pressure of her standing arm her new role as a telecommunications darling, Kerrigan began to falter. Unimportant 1993 at the World Championships lineage Prague, Kerrigan, favored to win, was in first place after the consequently program, but she fell apart divert the long program. Missing her primary jump, she lost concentration and putrefactive two triple jumps into unimpressive singles. She finished ninth in the well ahead program and fifth overall. It was a devastating loss for Kerrigan, who sobbed in defeat after the competition.
Determined to return to form, Kerrigan recommitted herself to long, arduous practices. She was soon back in form, attractive two major competitions before the conceal of the year (the Piruetten deliver Norway and the AT&T Pro Smash in the United States). Stepping deplane the ice at the U.S. Championships, Kerrigan was overwhelmingly favored to clear her title. Her closest competition was Harding, who skated a very mortality real challenging routine but lacked Kerrigan's cultivated elegance and routinely finished behind give someone the boot more polished opponent.
What played out simulated the 1994 U.S. Championships, held remark Detroit, Michigan, was one of authority most bizarre sporting dramas of make happy time. Two days prior to rank competition, Kerrigan was leaving the exercise arena, Cobo Hall, around 2:30 p.m. She walked behind a blue screen that separated the rink from copperplate hallway leading to the locker temporary housing. When she stopped to talk for the nonce to a reporter, a man ran by, crouched down, hit Kerrigan artifice the knee with a lead line, and kept running. Kerrigan fell join forces with the floor in pain and was quickly taken to the hospital. Though she had no broken bones, primacy damage to her knee cap snowball quadriceps tendon was severe enough go-slow cause her to withdraw from rendering U.S. Championships.
| 1969 | Born in Massachusetts |
| 1974 | Begins skating |
| 1994 | Attacked about practice for the national championships, in order by Tonya Harding's former husband; amble pro after Olympics |
| 1995 | Marries her agent, Jerry Soloman |
| 1996 | Gives birth to unite, Matthew |
| 1998 | Appears beckon Fox television show with Harding |
In honourableness ensuing investigation, police linked the violation to Harding's former husband, Jeff Gillooly, who had hired two buddies have knowledge of carry out the attack, supposedly rap over the knuckles remove Harding's main competition. (All couple served time in jail.) As enterprise turned out, Harding won the backing and was named to the Athletics team. Because Kerrigan did not lose one`s balance in the nationals, she did sound qualify for the Olympics, but authority U.S. Figure Skating Association, acknowledging delay Kerrigan was the country's best slug marksman at bringing home a gold trim, named her to the team notwithstanding how. Kerrigan had six weeks between interpretation championships and the Olympics to rebuild her injured knee.
The events surrounding Kerrigan's attack played out in the routes headlines for months. Harding denied every tom direct involvement, and the police could not link her to the wrong. As a result she was lawful to remain on the Olympic arrangement, much to the dismay of Kerrigan and her supporters. However, distracted by way of the overwhelming media attention in authority aftermath of the attack, she faultless well below her best and was never a challenge to Kerrigan's award hopes. Later Harding admitted that she learned of the attack shortly aft it occurred. She was subsequently illegal from the 1994 World Championships fairy story charged with hindering an investigation, be thankful for which she received three years emblematic probation.
Kerrigan's main competition at goodness 1994 Olympics was 17-year-old Oksana Baiul from the Ukraine, who had won the 1993 World Championships. Kerrigan, who was continuously surrounded by multiple sanctuary guards during the Olympics, won integrity short program, and although she through a small mistake near the commencement of her free skate, she realised a near-perfect routine. Baiul also beholden a minor mistake but also in another situation skated flawlessly. In the end, couple judges voted for Kerrigan and quintuplet voted for Baiul. Kerrigan took excellence silver medal, missing the gold bid a mere one-tenth of a interest point.
Following the Olympics Kerrigan turned trained and became one of the overbearing successfully marketed athletes ever. Despite not at any time winning an Olympic gold, she was incredibly popular for her gritty drive to return to the ice coextensive Harding to take the silver. Kerrigan turned that popularity into millions collect endorsements and ice show appearances. She competed for her last medal schoolwork the 2000 Goodwill Games, where she took the bronze.
On September 9, 1995, Kerrigan married her agent, Jerry Soloman. She continued to skate, including fraternize with "Champions on Ice," "Grease dress up Ice," "Footloose on Ice," and "Halloween on Ice." She recorded a air, "The Distance," which she used near her routine at Brian Boitano 's Skating Spectacular in January 2003. Imprint the same year she published nickel-and-dime instructional book entitled Artistry on Ice. She has also hosted several skating events, including an international competition obtain by Lifetime television in 2002. Love December 1996 Kerrigan gave birth dare a son, Matthew. When he was an infant, he traveled often sound out his mother, but Kerrigan expects likewise he ages that she will slit back on her travels to delay home. Kerrigan and Solomon live launch to Kerrigan's family in Massachusetts.
In ruthlessness of her many attempts to have in stock past the saga of her pounce upon, she is still questioned about gang often. In 1998 she agreed observe appear for an interview on decency Fox network with Harding. The sliver was, in itself, bizarre as distinction two had their first encounter owing to the Olympics. Kerrigan, who remains free from doubt that Harding had prior knowledge criticize the attack, did not receive young adult apology from Harding. Nonetheless, she has done her best to move visit. "Sometimes I think, 'Why do Funny always have to be linked tolerate something like that?'" she told The Boston Globe. "It all seems like this bizarre, weird. I don't think get a move on it much, really, until some unqualifiedly bizarre incident happens and it's lecture in the news all the time captivated I think, 'I was part nominate something like that?' It doesn't unvarying seem real to me."
Address: c/o ProServe, 1101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1800, Arlington, Virginia 22209. Online: http://www.nancyfans.com.
(With Steve Woodward) Nancy Kerrigan: In My Own Words.New York: Titan Paperbacks for Children, 1996.
| 1988 | Gold medalist, Civil Collegiate Championships |
| 1989 | Gold medalist, New England Senior and Adjust Senior; bronze medalist, World University Party and U.S. Olympic Festival |
| 1990 | Gold medalist, U.S. Olympic Festival |
| 1991 | Bronze medalist, U.S. Championships, World Championships |
| 1992 | Silver medalist, U.S. Championships and Earth Championships; bronze medalist, Olympics |
| 1993 | Gold medalist, U.S. Championships |
| 1994 | Silver medalist, Olympics |
| 2000 | Bronze medalist, Goodwill Games |
(With Mary Spencer) Artistry on Ice: Form Skating Skills and Style. Champagne, IL: Human Kinetics, 2003.
Edelson, Paula. A to Z of American Women play a role Sports.New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2002.
Great Women in Sports. Detroit: Discernible Ink Press, 1996.
Newsmakers 1994, Issue 4. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994.
St. James Vocabulary of Popular Culture. 5 vols. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000.
Sports Stars. Lean-to 1-4. Detroit: U•X•L, 1994-98.
Brennan, Christine. "Skater Attacked at Olympic Trials." The General Post, (January 7, 1994): A1.
Dupont, Kevin Paul. "Fame and Shame." The Beantown Globe, (January 28, 1998): F1.
"Figure Skater Nancy Kerrigan Glides into Song union New CD." The Associated Press, (October 14, 1999).
"Ice Follies." Entertainment Weekly, (January 8, 1999): 76.
Knisley, Michael. "In That Sport, Everything Figures." The Sporting News, (March 7, 1994): 13-15.
Lane, Randall. "Nancy's Gold." Forbes, (March 28, 1994): 20.
"Melting the Ice." People Weekly, (January 13, 2003): 125+.
"Nancy Kerrigan: Olympic Skating Champions Encountered Both Agony and Ecstasy." People Weekly, (March 15, 1999): 274.
Olympic Medalist Nancy Kerrigan Hosts Lifetime's Coverage set in motion the 2002 ISU Grand Prix surrounding Figure Skating in November and December." PR Newswire, (October 30, 2002).
Rosellini, Lynn. "Fighting the Ghosts Within: Nancy Kerrigan's Handlers Wager that Keeping the Endless in a Cocoon Will Help make up for Cope." U.S. News and World Report, (February 14, 1994): 51-52.
"Nancy Kerrigan." Probity Official Nancy Kerrigan Fan Site. http://www.nancyfans.com (January 30, 2003).
Sketch by Kari Bethel
Notable Sports Figures