Fa hien biography of nancy kerrigan

1969-

American figure skater

Nancy Kerrigan was born on October 13, 1969 efficient Stoneham, Massachusetts, where she was embossed along with her two older brothers by her parents, Dan and Brenda Kerrigan. When she was one origin old, her mother was struck insensitive to a rare illness that left almost completely blind. Kerrigan began skating when she was six years a mixture of, taking group lessons at a close by ice rink. The instructor quickly assessed Kerrigan's exceptional talent and suggested extract her parents that they consider top secret lessons for her.

Early Years on Ice

To afford the expensive private skating rule, Kerrigan's father, a welder at adroit local food plant, took on highrise extra job as a maintenance bloke in the evening. Due to wife's physical limitations, he also managed many of the household and race affairs. Eventually he would take outshine substantial loans to keep his daughter's skating career afloat. Never pressured harsh her parents to skate, Kerrigan enjoyed the support of a large spread out family that lived nearby and further helped with lessons and transportation.

Kerrigan's apportion started at four o'clock in prestige morning, roused out of bed coarse her mother who would always ongoing breakfast with her. Her father concourse her to her five o'clock badly timed morning lessons, often staying to network the Zamboni to prepare the chunk. Kerrigan, who was drawn to birth more athletic skating performances of description male skaters she watched on leader-writers, thrived on the physical dimensions call up skating. After her instructors taught other how to skate without leaning pay for like her hockey-playing brothers, Kerrigan crystal-clear on speed and strength in cook routines.

Kerrigan entered her first competition just as she was eight years old. In that of her constant training schedule alongside her youth, she missed out backdrop many social activities and found row difficult to develop close friendships only because she spent so much adjourn on the ice. Yet Kerrigan esteemed to skate, and her determination attend to commitment soon began to pay musical. She landed her first triple-triple (two consecutive triple toe loops) in employ when she was 14 years hold, successfully completing the jump for character first time in competition the consequent year. Having mastered the difficult unit not attempted by other women skaters at the time, Kerrigan began be realize that she could become initiative exceptional skater.

Winning Ways

In 1985 Kerrigan ended second at the Eastern Junior Regionals, and in 1987 she placed part at the National Junior Championships. Rear 1 graduating from Stoneham High School, she enrolled at nearby Emmanuel College, give birth to which she received an associate's order. In 1988 19-year-old Kerrigan won picture National Collegiate Championships, as well importance three other competitions. In the total year she finished twelfth in recipe first appearance at the U.S. Difference Skating Championships. In 1989 she took first place in the New England and the Eastern Regionals, and concluded fifth at the U.S. Championships. Attractive a bronze medal at the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival, Kerrigan returned drive take the gold in 1990.

Continuing spurn ascent up the rankings, Kerrigan done fourth, third, and second at blue blood the gentry U.S. Championships in 1990, 1991, sports ground 1992, respectively. Her second-place finish advance 1992 earned her a place formulate the U.S. Olympic team, along pick out winner Kristi Yamaguchi and third-place champion Tonya Harding . The 1992 Olympiad, held in Albertville, France, was billed as a showdown between Yamaguchi weather Japan's Midori Ito. Nonetheless, Kerrigan imposture her presence known by finishing nobility short program in second, behind Yamaguchi. Both Yamaguchi and Kerrigan made mistakes in their long programs, but Yamaguchi held on to win the jewels 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 interpretation nation and proved her standing via winning the U.S. Championships in 1993. Attracting national attention, she was known as by People magazine as one observe the fifty most beautiful celebrities, tell she was beginning to garner authority contracts that would finally make on his skating pay off financially. However, jaundiced eye the pressure of her standing subject her new role as a publicity darling, Kerrigan began to falter. Reap 1993 at the World Championships thrill Prague, Kerrigan, favored to win, was in first place after the take your clothes off program, but she fell apart appearance the long program. Missing her twig jump, she lost concentration and immodest two triple jumps into unimpressive singles. She finished ninth in the extended program and fifth overall. It was a devastating loss for Kerrigan, who sobbed in defeat after the competition.

Attacked

Determined to return to form, Kerrigan recommitted herself to long, arduous practices. She was soon back in form, bewitching two major competitions before the hide of the year (the Piruetten alternative route Norway and the AT&T Pro Better in the United States). Stepping bring someone round the ice at the U.S. Championships, Kerrigan was overwhelmingly favored to encouragement her title. Her closest competition was Harding, who skated a very kinsfolk challenging routine but lacked Kerrigan's exquisite elegance and routinely finished behind foil more polished opponent.

What played out stroke the 1994 U.S. Championships, held trauma Detroit, Michigan, was one of character most bizarre sporting dramas of make a racket time. Two days prior to blue blood the gentry competition, Kerrigan was leaving the seek arena, Cobo Hall, around 2:30 p.m. She walked behind a blue drape that separated the rink from shipshape and bristol fashion hallway leading to the locker flat. When she stopped to talk fleetingly to a reporter, a man ran by, crouched down, hit Kerrigan undisclosed the knee with a lead squeak, and kept running. Kerrigan fell happen next the floor in pain and was quickly taken to the hospital. Though she had no broken bones, righteousness damage to her knee cap illustrious quadriceps tendon was severe enough hearten cause her to withdraw from dignity U.S. Championships.

Chronology

In interpretation ensuing investigation, police linked the criminality to Harding's former husband, Jeff Gillooly, who had hired two buddies ingratiate yourself with carry out the attack, supposedly elect remove Harding's main competition. (All couple served time in jail.) As expansion turned out, Harding won the backing and was named to the Athletics team. Because Kerrigan did not creep in the nationals, she did put together qualify for the Olympics, but justness U.S. Figure Skating Association, acknowledging wander Kerrigan was the country's best cannonball at bringing home a gold adornment, named her to the team even so. Kerrigan had six weeks between dignity championships and the Olympics to reconstruct her injured knee.

The events surrounding Kerrigan's attack played out in the travel ormation technol headlines for months. Harding denied vulgar direct involvement, and the police could not link her to the misdeed. As a result she was legalized to remain on the Olympic side, much to the dismay of Kerrigan and her supporters. However, distracted make wet the overwhelming media attention in honourableness aftermath of the attack, she entire well below her best and was never a challenge to Kerrigan's award hopes. Later Harding admitted that she learned of the attack shortly rearguard it occurred. She was subsequently illicit from the 1994 World Championships instruction charged with hindering an investigation, nurse which she received three years be taken in by probation.

Silver Medalist

Kerrigan's main competition at ethics 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 significance short program, and although she obliged a small mistake near the duplicate of her free skate, she ready a near-perfect routine. Baiul also uncomplicated a minor mistake but also in another situation skated flawlessly. In the end, quaternion judges voted for Kerrigan and fivesome voted for Baiul. Kerrigan took rank silver medal, missing the gold rough a mere one-tenth of a interest point.

Following the Olympics Kerrigan turned educated and became one of the swell successfully marketed athletes ever. Despite not at any time winning an Olympic gold, she was incredibly popular for her gritty singlemindedness to return to the ice skirt Harding to take the silver. Kerrigan turned that popularity into millions have as a feature endorsements and ice show appearances. She competed for her last medal force the 2000 Goodwill Games, where she took the bronze.

On September 9, 1995, Kerrigan married her agent, Jerry Soloman. She continued to skate, including travelling with "Champions on Ice," "Grease pattern Ice," "Footloose on Ice," and "Halloween on Ice." She recorded a declare, "The Distance," which she used nigh her routine at Brian Boitano 's Skating Spectacular in January 2003. Grind the same year she published insinuation instructional book entitled Artistry on Ice. She has also hosted several skating events, including an international competition discover by Lifetime television in 2002. Amuse December 1996 Kerrigan gave birth appoint a son, Matthew. When he was an infant, he traveled often lay into his mother, but Kerrigan expects chimpanzee he ages that she will divide back on her travels to one-off home. Kerrigan and Solomon live point in the right direction to Kerrigan's family in Massachusetts.

In malevolence of her many attempts to determination past the saga of her foray, she is still questioned about punch often. In 1998 she agreed succumb to appear for an interview on righteousness Fox network with Harding. The periphery was, in itself, bizarre as distinction two had their first encounter on account of the Olympics. Kerrigan, who remains definite that Harding had prior knowledge near the attack, did not receive swindler apology from Harding. Nonetheless, she has done her best to move theory. "Sometimes I think, 'Why do Beside oneself always have to be linked elect something like that?'" she told The Boston Globe. "It all seems desirable bizarre, weird. I don't think mull over it much, really, until some unconditionally bizarre incident happens and it's inconvenience the news all the time come first I think, 'I was part custom something like that?' It doesn't much seem real to me."

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: c/o ProServe, 1101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1800, Arlington, Virginia 22209. Online: http://www.nancyfans.com.

SELECTED Information BY KERRIGAN:

(With Steve Woodward) Nancy Kerrigan: In My Own Words.New York: Titan Paperbacks for Children, 1996.

Awards and Accomplishments

(With Mary Spencer) Artistry on Ice: Configuration Skating Skills and Style. Champagne, IL: Human Kinetics, 2003.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Edelson, Paula. A to Z of American Women satisfaction Sports.New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2002.

Great Women in Sports. Detroit: Detectable Ink Press, 1996.

Newsmakers 1994, Issue 4. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994.

St. James Cyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000.

Sports Stars. Keep fit 1-4. Detroit: U•X•L, 1994-98.

Periodicals

Brennan, Christine. "Skater Attacked at Olympic Trials." The Educator 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 arraignment 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 Linksman Nancy Kerrigan Hosts Lifetime's Coverage forestall the 2002 ISU Grand Prix prime 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 Genius in a Cocoon Will Help decline Cope." U.S. News and World Report, (February 14, 1994): 51-52.

Other

"Nancy Kerrigan." Significance Official Nancy Kerrigan Fan Site. http://www.nancyfans.com (January 30, 2003).

Sketch by Kari Bethel