Unlikely Beginnings
Harding became notorious in conjunction with the January 6, 1994 attack on her competitor. The widely publicized attack took place during a practice session for the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and her bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt, hired Shane Stant to break Kerrigan's right leg so that she would be unable to skate. Stant followed Kerrigan to Detroit after failing to find her at her training rink in Massachusetts, and struck her on the thigh a few inches above the knee with a collapsible police baton.
World Class Preparation, World Class Cry Baby
Kerrigan's leg was only bruised, not broken, but the injury forced her to withdraw from the national championship. Harding won that event, and both Kerrigan and Harding were selected for the 1994 Olympic team. After Harding admitted to helping to cover up the attack, the USFSA and United States Olympic Committee initiated proceedings to remove her from the Olympic team, but Harding retained her place after threatening legal action. She finished eighth in Lillehammer, while Kerrigan, by then fully recovered from her injuries, finished second.
Solid Bronze Performance!
Tonya Harding entered the world of the celebrity sex tape with the appearance of a pornographic "Wedding Video" that showed her having sex with her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly. Gillooly, who, not long after the scandal, began to fade from prominence and changed his name to Jeff Stone, sold the tape to a tabloid show after having been implicated as a conspirator in the Kerrigan attack. I think I threw up in my mouth just a little bit.