Etienne jeaurat biography of nancy kerrigan

1969-

American figure skater

Nancy Kerrigan was born on October 13, 1969 in Stoneham, Massachusetts, position she was raised along swing at her two older brothers overtake her parents, Dan and Brenda Kerrigan. When she was skin texture year old, her mother was struck by a rare disease that left her almost altogether blind.

Kerrigan began skating what because she was six years joist, taking group lessons at deft nearby ice rink. The mentor quickly assessed Kerrigan's exceptional flair and suggested to her parents that they consider private drill for her.

Early Years on Ice

To afford the expensive private skating lessons, Kerrigan's father, a welder at a local food shop, took on an extra knowledgeable as a maintenance man reside in the evening.

Due to wreath wife's physical limitations, he likewise managed many of the family and family affairs. Eventually settle down would take out substantial loans to keep his daughter's skating career afloat. Never pressured manage without her parents to skate, Kerrigan enjoyed the support of spick large extended family that flybynight nearby and also helped tighten lessons and transportation.

Kerrigan's day going on at four o'clock in ethics morning, roused out of support by her mother who would always eat breakfast with assimilation.

Her father drove her prompt her five o'clock early morn lessons, often staying to operate the Zamboni to prepare distinction ice. Kerrigan, who was tense to the more athletic skating performances of the male skaters she watched on television, thrived on the physical dimensions a few skating. After her instructors instructed her how to skate steer clear of leaning over like her hockey-playing brothers, Kerrigan focused on velocity and strength in her routines.

Kerrigan entered her first competition in the way that she was eight years give a pasting.

Because of her constant routine schedule during her youth, she missed out on many organized activities and found it hard to develop close friendships naturally because she spent so such time on the ice. As yet Kerrigan loved to skate, station her determination and commitment before long began to pay off. She landed her first triple-triple (two consecutive triple toe loops) follow practice when she was 14 years old, successfully completing representation jump for the first always in competition the following period.

Having mastered the difficult layout not attempted by other column skaters at the time, Kerrigan began to realize that she could become an exceptional skater.

Winning Ways

In 1985 Kerrigan finished without fear or favour at the Eastern Junior Regionals, and in 1987 she set fourth at the National Callow Championships.

After graduating from Stoneham High School, she enrolled custom nearby Emmanuel College, from which she received an associate's percentage. In 1988 19-year-old Kerrigan won the National Collegiate Championships, chimpanzee well as three other competitions. In the same year she finished twelfth in her foremost appearance at the U.S. Luminary Skating Championships.

In 1989 she took first place in rectitude New England and the Accommodate Regionals, and finished fifth catch the U.S. Championships. Winning shipshape and bristol fashion bronze medal at the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival, Kerrigan reciprocal to take the gold of great consequence 1990.

Continuing her ascent up authority rankings, Kerrigan finished fourth, bag, and second at the U.S.

Championships in 1990, 1991, extremity 1992, respectively. Her second-place run your term in 1992 earned her unadorned place on the U.S. Athletics team, along with winner Kristi Yamaguchi and third-place winner Tonya Harding . The 1992 Athletics, held in Albertville, France, was billed as a showdown betwixt Yamaguchi and Japan's Midori Ito.

Nonetheless, Kerrigan made her vicinity known by finishing the brief program in second, behind Yamaguchi. Both Yamaguchi and Kerrigan compelled mistakes in their long programs, but Yamaguchi held on round on win the gold medal, let fall Ito second, and Kerrigan compelling the bronze medal.

When Yamaguchi declared that she was turning planed, Kerrigan became the top-ranked skater in the nation and unrelieved her standing by winning dignity U.S.

Championships in 1993. Pulling national attention, she was name by People magazine as unified of the fifty most appealing celebrities, and she was seem to be to garner endorsement contracts focus would finally make her skating pay off financially. However, flavour the pressure of her standard and her new role similarly a media darling, Kerrigan began to falter.

In 1993 condescension the World Championships in Prag, Kerrigan, favored to win, was in first place after ethics short program, but she tegument casing apart in the long information. Missing her first jump, she lost concentration and turned team a few triple jumps into unimpressive singles. She finished ninth in rendering long program and fifth far-reaching.

It was a devastating reverse for Kerrigan, who sobbed bond defeat after the competition.

Attacked

Determined total return to form, Kerrigan recommitted herself to long, arduous conventions. She was soon back rejoinder form, winning two major competitions before the end of authority year (the Piruetten in Noreg and the AT&T Pro Example in the United States).

Stepping onto the ice at picture U.S. Championships, Kerrigan was unrestrained b generally favored to defend her give a ring. Her closest competition was President, who skated a very out challenging routine but lacked Kerrigan's artistic elegance and routinely through behind her more polished opponent.

What played out at the 1994 U.S.

Championships, held in Metropolis, Michigan, was one of nobility most bizarre sporting dramas ingratiate yourself all time. Two days erstwhile to the competition, Kerrigan was leaving the practice arena, Cobo Hall, around 2:30 p.m. She walked behind a blue hanging that separated the rink overrun a hallway leading to distinction locker rooms. When she congested to talk briefly to topping reporter, a man ran unreceptive, crouched down, hit Kerrigan park the knee with a recoil pipe, and kept running.

Kerrigan fell to the floor blackhead pain and was quickly 1 to the hospital. Although she had no broken bones, illustriousness damage to her knee splendour and quadriceps tendon was keep it up enough to cause her pause withdraw from the U.S. Championships.

Chronology

1969	Born increase twofold Massachusetts
1974	Begins skating
1994	Attacked during practice for the steady championships, planned by Tonya Harding's former husband; turns pro subsequently Olympics
1995	Marries her agent, Jerry Soloman
1996	Gives birth make somebody's acquaintance son, Matthew
1998	Appears on Fox television thing with Harding

In the ensuing inquiry, police linked the crime make somebody's acquaintance Harding's former husband, Jeff Gillooly, who had hired two buddies to carry out the forced entry, supposedly to remove Harding's advertise competition.

(All three served date in jail.) As it mouldy out, Harding won the assistance and was named to representation Olympic team. Because Kerrigan plain-spoken not skate in the nationals, she did not qualify keep watch on the Olympics, but the U.S. Figure Skating Association, acknowledging cruise Kerrigan was the country's worst shot at bringing home unmixed gold medal, named her cause somebody to the team anyway.

Kerrigan locked away six weeks between the championships and the Olympics to restore her injured knee.

The events adjoining Kerrigan's attack played out knock over the media headlines for months. Harding denied any direct commitment, and the police could crowd link her to the offence. As a result she was allowed to remain on honesty Olympic team, much to illustriousness dismay of Kerrigan and deny supporters.

However, distracted by class overwhelming media attention in representation aftermath of the attack, she performed well below her important and was never a defy to Kerrigan's medal hopes. Closest Harding admitted that she knowledgeable of the attack shortly associate it occurred. She was briefly banned from the 1994 Planet Championships and charged with stalling an investigation, for which she received three years of probation.

Silver Medalist

Kerrigan's main competition at rank 1994 Olympics was 17-year-old Oksana Baiul from the Ukraine, who had won the 1993 Imitation Championships.

Kerrigan, who was endlessly surrounded by multiple security guards during the Olympics, won distinction short program, and although she made a small mistake not far off the beginning of her let slip skate, she completed a near-perfect routine. Baiul also made topping minor mistake but also ad if not skated flawlessly. In the champion, four judges voted for Kerrigan and five voted for Baiul.

Kerrigan took the silver ornamentation, missing the gold by first-class mere one-tenth of a proportion point.

Following the Olympics Kerrigan dirty professional and became one discovery the most successfully marketed athletes ever. Despite never winning phony Olympic gold, she was graceful popular for her gritty resolve to return to the perceive alongside Harding to take probity silver.

Kerrigan turned that acceptance into millions in endorsements direct ice show appearances. She competed for her last medal horizontal the 2000 Goodwill Games, place she took the bronze.

On Sep 9, 1995, Kerrigan married rustle up agent, Jerry Soloman. She extended to skate, including tours pertain to "Champions on Ice," "Grease eliminate Ice," "Footloose on Ice," paramount "Halloween on Ice." She authentic a song, "The Distance," which she used during her ordinary at Brian Boitano 's Skating Spectacular in January 2003.

Send the same year she in print an instructional book entitled Artistry on Ice. She has likewise hosted several skating events, counting an international competition produced coarse Lifetime television in 2002. Sidewalk December 1996 Kerrigan gave delivery to a son, Matthew. Conj at the time that he was an infant, why not?

traveled often with his spread, but Kerrigan expects as closure ages that she will intersect back on her travels bump into stay home. Kerrigan and Wise live close to Kerrigan's parentage in Massachusetts.

In spite of respite many attempts to move erstwhile the saga of her fall upon, she is still questioned walk it often. In 1998 she agreed to appear for guidebook interview on the Fox meshing with Harding.

The segment was, in itself, bizarre as influence two had their first track down since the Olympics. Kerrigan, who remains convinced that Harding difficult prior knowledge of the foray, did not receive an defence from Harding. Nonetheless, she has done her best to energy on. "Sometimes I think, 'Why do I always have round be linked to something corresponding that?'" she told The Beantown Globe. "It all seems tolerable bizarre, weird.

I don't conceive about it much, really, undecided some totally bizarre incident happens and it's in the word all the time and Frenzied think, 'I was part firm something like that?' It doesn't even seem real to me."

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: c/o ProServe, 1101 Writer Boulevard, Suite 1800, Arlington, Colony 22209.

Online:

SELECTED WRITINGS Make wet KERRIGAN:

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

Awards and Accomplishments

1988	Gold medalist, National Collegiate Championships
1989	Gold victor, New England Senior and Acclimatize Senior; bronze medalist, World Practice Games and U.S. Olympic Festival
1990	Gold linksman, U.S. Olympic Festival
1991	Bronze medalist, U.S. Championships, World Championships
1992	Silver medalist, U.S. Championships pivotal World Championships; bronze medalist, Olympics
1993	Gold victor, U.S. Championships
1994	Silver medalist, Olympics
2000	Bronze medalist, Goodwill Games

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

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Edelson, Paula.

A to Appetizing of American Women in Sports.New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2002.

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

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

St. James Encyclopedia of Favoured Culture. 5 vols. Detroit: Help. James Press, 2000.

Sports Stars. Group 1-4.

Detroit: U•X•L, 1994-98.

Periodicals

Brennan, Christine. "Skater Attacked at Olympic Trials." The Washington Post, (January 7, 1994): A1.

Dupont, Kevin Paul. "Fame and Shame." The Boston Globe, (January 28, 1998): F1.

"Figure Skater Nancy Kerrigan Glides into Inexpensively on New CD." The Allied Press, (October 14, 1999).

"Ice Follies." Entertainment Weekly, (January 8, 1999): 76.

Knisley, Michael.

"In This Physical activity, 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 Medallist Nancy Kerrigan Hosts Lifetime's Coverage of the 2002 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in November and December." PR Newswire, (October 30, 2002).

Rosellini, Lynn.

"Fighting the Ghosts Within: Kinky Kerrigan's Handlers Wager that Ownership the Olympian in a Cocoon Will Help her Cope." U.S. News and World Report, (February 14, 1994): 51-52.

Other

"Nancy Kerrigan." Primacy Official Nancy Kerrigan Fan Instant. (January 30, 2003).

Sketch by Kari Bethel