'Biggest villain' in figure skating history: the fate of American athlete Tony Harding
'06.02.2021'
Source: Lenta.ru report
American Tonya Harding is without a doubt the most controversial figure skater in history. Her entire career is a series of high-profile stories and proceedings. "Lenta.ru" talks about an odious figure skater, whose name has already become a household name in the United States.
She skated in unbuttoned suits, broke her skates during the performance, received anonymous threats, disappeared during the awards ... However, this is not the main thing: Tonya received the main portion of the sad glory for organizing an attack on her opponent. In 1994, Nancy Kerrigan had to break her leg in order for her to withdraw from the national championship. Meanwhile, Harding was a very talented skater: at competitions she performed a triple axel, which is still used today by a few.
“Mother beat me ... in front of everyone”
So, Tonya was born in 1970 in Portland (Oregon) in the family of Lavona and Al Harding. My father had serious health problems that did not always allow him to work, so they did not live well. At the same time, Al tried to give the girl enough time. For example, he often went fishing and hunting with her.
Lavona, on the other hand, was an extremely impulsive woman who loved to drink. According to Tony's stories, in a fit of feelings, the mother often treated her cruelly - the woman herself denied this. “She was very aggressive. She beat me ... in front of everyone, ”- said Tonya. Another famous story: as if Lavona once threw a knife at a girl. Over the years, the athlete either confirmed it or denied it.
The girl took up figure skating early, barely three years old. In this hobby, her mother, oddly enough, was very supportive. To pay for the training and everything needed for them, Lavona worked all day as a waitress, and also collected and handed over empty bottles. Tonya was very fond of skating, and her abilities were obvious. Already at the age of 12, she cleanly performed the triple lutz - at that time it was considered a good achievement. Tonya received her first fee for participating in competitions back in high school. Everything went to ensure that figure skating became the work of her whole life.
Big wins
In 1986, 16-year-old Harding entered the US Senior Championship for the first time. At the age of 19, she finally reached the podium, taking the third step. In the same year, she took gold at the Grand Prix stage, Skate America. It is logical that in 1990 Tonya was considered the main contender for the title of US champion. Cold prevented: the athlete became only seventh. This did not upset Harding at all, because for the new season she had a powerful trump card. In training, she landed a triple axel - one of the most difficult jumps ever performed by women.
And in 1991, which was the most successful year of her career, Harding successfully completed her first triple axel in competition - she won the US Championship with a score of 6.0 for technique. This was the second time in history that American judges gave such a score: before Tony, only Denise Bielmann received it in 1978. Later that season, Harding cleanly performed the triple axel three more times, and thanks to this jump she won silver at the World Championships.
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In general, several outstanding achievements are associated with Harding and her triple axel. First, an American became the first woman to perform this jump in a short program. Secondly, no one has jumped two triple axels in one competition before. Thirdly, no one succeeded in a cascade with a triple axel (triple axel - double toe loop)
However, after that, Harding's career suddenly began to decline. In 1992, the skater could not get into optimal shape and did not skate a single start cleanly. The triple axel did not work either. As a result, Tonya went to the Olympics in French Albertville only as the third number of the national team. In addition to her, Christie Yamaguchi and Nancy Kerrigan performed from the USA. As a result, Yamaguchi became an Olympic champion, Kerrigan took bronze, and Harding finished only fourth. However, the athlete herself once said that the reason for the failure was the flight delay: as if she arrived too late for the competition, and the on-site preparation turned out to be blurry.
"Before and after"
Then something strange began to happen. Not a single start with Harding went smoothly. So, in the short program at the 1993 US Championships, she asked the judges for permission to start over because of the unbuttoned suit. The button came off at the very beginning of the rental, and after the first failed jump, the skater stopped the performance. They went to meet her.
At Skate America in the same year, she took to the ice in skates with a loose blade. She again had to turn to the referee so that they would allow to re-roll the program. The whole world has seen a photo of her standing near the judges' table with her leg raised and pointing at the shoe. As a result, Tonya was allowed to go out onto the ice again after a technician examined her skates. Moreover, at the same tournament, she complained of abdominal pain caused by an ovarian cyst, which was allegedly on the verge of rupture. The figure skater refused to withdraw from the competition and took third place.
In late 1993, Harding was supposed to participate in regional competitions, but before that she began to receive anonymous threats. And at that moment there was no reason for them. The US Figure Skating Association decided to suspend Tonya from performing in order to ensure her safety, but the athlete was against: missing the tournaments meant a possible loss of place in the national team. Harding's position on the national team was already precarious - her main rival was Kerrigan. And before the 1994 US Championship, an event happened that divided Harding's life into "before" and "after".
Angel tattoo
So, on January 6, 1994, before the start of the US Championship, which was held in Detroit, Kerrigan was attacked. When she was leaving training, a man attacked her with a baton and injured her leg. Nancy was forced to withdraw from the tournament, and Harding won it. But who was the attacker? A certain Shane Stant. Moreover, he did not even know what Kerrigan looked like, and asked the fans watching the training to point out her. He did this at the request of Tony's ex-husband Jeff Gillowly (they got married in 1990 and divorced three years later; Tonya described this relationship as abusive) and the bodyguard of the figure skater Shawn Eckardt. At the same time, Harding allegedly did not know about the impending attack and convinced everyone that she was framed. At the same time, at the tournament, she avoided meeting with journalists and did not even go to the awards ceremony: they were looking for the winner throughout the ice palace.
When the police found out that the initiators were people associated with Harding, the US Figure Skating Association and the US National Olympic Committee began to develop sanctions against the athlete. They tried to deprive her of the gold of the national championship and expel her from the national team, but it did not work: Tonya threatened to start a trial, in which, most likely, she would have won. Despite the fact that the attackers were known, it was difficult to prove the involvement of the skater herself in the case. In protest, she even got an angel tattoo on her back. So in February 1994, Kerrigan, who managed to recover, and Harding as the current champion of the country went to the Olympics in Lillehammer.
At the same time, at the Games, Tony did not succeed at all. During the free skating, the skater had a traditional failure: the lace on the skate broke. She, as before, had to ask the judges to give her one more chance, but the second attempt was accompanied by falls and breakdowns of elements. The result is eighth place. And Kerrigan, by the way, took the silver.
One of the explanations for the failure is pressure from the press and general unhealthy attention, because the name Harding has been exaggerated for months in the most unpleasant context. The American got on the covers of Time and Newsweek magazines, and the CBS channel instructed the journalist Connie Chang to follow her everywhere. At the Olympic training rink, more than 400 media representatives even staged a stampede, and the broadcast of the short program became one of the most watched television programs in American history.
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"Disregard for Honesty"
After the Olympics, justice was not long in coming. The Figure Skating Association's own investigation proved that Tonya knew about the attack plans and conspired. In addition, the murder of a rival was allegedly planned initially. Harding was nevertheless stripped of his 1994 national championship gold and banned for life from participating in amateur tournaments as an athlete or coach.
“We both aimed at the same goal - to show the judges who is the best skater among us. I trained so hard. I was ready ... and wanted to leave the stage as the best. "
The Association concluded that Harding had shown "a complete disregard for honesty, athleticism and ethical conduct." In addition, Tonya became persona non grata at professional tournaments and shows, because some athletes and promoters did not want to work with her. It was the end of a career.
In justification, the skater admitted that she was really aware of the ex-spouse's plans, but insisted that she had not persuaded him. It was as if she was going to call the FBI and warn about the impending attack, but Gillowley threatened her with rape and pointed a gun at her temple. Jeff, who later changed his last name to Stone, called her testimony "extremely ridiculous." What were the motives of her ex-husband and bodyguard, Tonya did not specify.
Six months later, all participants in the attack, except for the skater, received prison sentences. Harding continued to deny that she was part of the conspiracy, but pleaded guilty to trying to thwart the prosecution. She was given a three-year suspended sentence, a fine of $ 160 and 500 hours of community service.
Despite this, Harding never regained her good name. She still bears the title of "the main villain" in the history of figure skating. It is generally accepted that Tonya is guilty of what happened, although this contradicts the official version.
“The media condemned me for doing something wrong. I'll always be a bad person, ”Harding complained. "Is this a challenge from the Lord to see how low you can put me down so that I break?"
"Stop apologizing"
After retiring from figure skating, Harding tried herself in boxing. Her professional career includes six fights (equally divided wins and losses). Moreover, one of the fights against Samantha Browning on February 22, 2003, Tonya played in the undercard of the fight Mike Tyson - Clifford Etienne. It was rumored that Harding entered the ring not out of sporting interest, but because of financial difficulties. One way or another, she soon had to completely leave the sport due to asthma.
“Don't love me? Spit!"
Then the American starred in clips and low-budget action films, participated in television projects like Dancing with the Stars. She did not disappear from the field of view of the inhabitants, although she sometimes had to endure a huge amount of hate. Indeed, the name of the former figure skater in the United States has even become a household name! For example, in 2007, Barack Obama, then the presidential candidate, told a crowd of supporters in Winton, Iowa: “People said that I would never stand a chance if I didn’t go and put my opponent on his knees, I won’t make Tonya Harding! " The former athlete admitted that it offended her.
"I have a second chance to be loved and happy."
In June 2010, 39-year-old Harding married Joseph Price and soon gave birth to a son. Since then, in all interviews she says: “I am not Tonya Harding, I am Tonya Price,” and, as it were, she tries to get rid of the past. And Tonya rarely recalls the incident 27 years ago. When asked if she wants to apologize to Kerrigan, she replies: "Stop apologizing." Nancy, in 2018, noted that she never received a direct apology from her former rival.
The film "I, Tonya" (or "Tonya against everyone") was shot about this story with Margot Robbie in the title role:
