‘Enough Apologizing!’ Where Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan Now Stand, 32 Years After the Attack
From 'Dancing with the Stars' to new lives, see how the 1994 Olympic rivals moved on from the drama
Thirty-two years ago, US Olympian Nancy Kerrigan was attacked after a practice session at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, Michigan. Not long after, it was revealed that a fellow skater and Olympian, Tonya Harding, was partially responsible for the attack.
The assault happened on January 6, 1994, and was planned by Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly and her bodyguard, Shawn Eckhardt, who hired the assailant, Shane Stant, to do the job. After the practice, Stant struck Kerrigan in her lower right thigh with a collapsible police baton or a metal club, leaving severe bruising and swelling to her knee and leg.
Since then, Harding has denied her direct involvement with the attack. However, she did later plead guilty to hindering the investigation. This led to her receiving three years of probation, 500 hours of community service, a $160,000 fine, and a lifetime ban from the U.S. Figure Skating Association.
While Kerrigan was forced to pull out of the U.S. Championships, she did recover in time for the 1994 Winter Olympics. Kerrigan went on to earn a silver medal in the ladies’ singles figure skating portion of the Games, despite the attack that had taken place just weeks prior.
Now, it’s been over three decades since the incident and both skaters have moved on from those events. Find out what Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding have been up to since the 1994 attack and what they do now.
Nancy Kerrigan, 56, embraces motherhood and coaching
Despite the attack on Kerrigan being the only thing on many people’s minds when it comes to the skater, she explained that she’s moved on from it all.
“It’s a lifetime ago. It hurts to see anybody in such pain,” Kerrigan said of the video of her crying after the assault. “It’s a long time ago. I just moved on.” She added, “I was just happy with the performance and to even be able to go and compete again after being attacked. It was such a thrill to be part of an Olympic team again and to be able to represent our country.”
Following the 1994 Olympics, Kerrigan retired from competitive figure skating, becoming a professional skater in ice shows. Productions she’s been in include Champions on Ice, Broadway on Ice, Holiday Spectacular on Ice and Footloose (an on-ice version), among others.
Kerrigan has also been a skating educator, hosting specialized workshops and clinics for figure skaters. Additionally, she’s coached in adult skating camps, hosted various events and been a mentor to up-and-coming skaters.
In 2017, the silver medalist traded in her skates for dancing shoes as she competed in Season 24 of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with Artem Chigvintsev and the duo finished in 6th place.
“I have always been a big fan of the show and always wanted to do it,” Kerrigan said of her time on DWTS. “This was a bucket list item of sorts, so I didn’t really place a lot of weight on the limelight aspect.”
She released a children’s book in 2023 called Stronger Than She Thinks, which follows a young skater, Nancy, working to land her first axel jump. Kerrigan is currently married to Jerry Solomon and has been since 1995. The couple has three children together: Matthew, Brian and Nicole.
Inside Tonya Harding’s life today: from boxing to ‘I, Tonya’
Harding has spoken about the attack several times in the past, all the while claiming she was unaware of it. But in more recent years, she’s revealed that she, too, has moved on.
“Enough apologizing,” Harding said. “She has her life. I have my life. We both have wonderful lives. That should be all that matters.”
Harding has had a difficult time since 1994. She, too, competed in the 1994 Olympics, but instead of medaling like Kerrigan, Harding placed 8th overall. In 2002, she was arrested for a DUI after crashing her truck in a ditch. Not only did she receive a 30-day suspended jail sentence, but she also violated her probation from an arrest in 2000 for assaulting her boyfriend.
After being banned from professional figure skating, she took a different route and began boxing. Harding participated in professional boxing from 2003 until 2004, with three wins and three losses.
In 2017, Harding was in the limelight once again with the release of the movie I, Tonya, which portrayed her more sympathetically. A year later, Harding, too, starred on Dancing with the Stars in the 26th season, partnered with Sasha Farber. The duo finished in third place.
After her split from Gillooly in 1993, Harding married Michael Smith from 1995 to 1996 and her current husband, Joseph Jens Price, in 2010. The couple has one child, a son named Gordon.
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