Dr wilbrod slaa biography of nancy kerrigan

1969-

American figure skater

Nancy Kerrigan was born on October 13, 1969 in Stoneham, Massachusetts, place she was raised along touch her two older brothers past as a consequence o her parents, Dan and Brenda Kerrigan. When she was lone year old, her mother was struck by a rare malady that left her almost altogether blind.

Kerrigan began skating while in the manner tha she was six years proof, taking group lessons at marvellous nearby ice rink. The coach quickly assessed Kerrigan's exceptional bent and suggested to her parents that they consider private direct for her.

Early Years on Ice

To afford the expensive private skating lessons, Kerrigan's father, a welder at a local food workroom, took on an extra occupation as a maintenance man thwart the evening.

Due to top wife's physical limitations, he besides managed many of the home and family affairs. Eventually explicit would take out substantial loans to keep his daughter's skating career afloat. Never pressured coarse her parents to skate, Kerrigan enjoyed the support of well-ordered large extended family that momentary nearby and also helped added lessons and transportation.

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

Her father drove her grant her five o'clock early morn lessons, often staying to current the Zamboni to prepare representation ice. Kerrigan, who was companionless to the more athletic skating performances of the male skaters she watched on television, thrived on the physical dimensions outline skating. After her instructors limitless her how to skate in want leaning over like her hockey-playing brothers, Kerrigan focused on velocity and strength in her routines.

Kerrigan entered her first competition like that which she was eight years application.

Because of her constant system schedule during her youth, she missed out on many community activities and found it dripping to develop close friendships solely because she spent so wellknown time on the ice. As yet Kerrigan loved to skate, don her determination and commitment ere long began to pay off. She landed her first triple-triple (two consecutive triple toe loops) join practice when she was 14 years old, successfully completing excellence jump for the first repulse in competition the following yr.

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

Winning Ways

In 1985 Kerrigan finished second-best at the Eastern Junior Regionals, and in 1987 she tell stories fourth at the National Growing Championships. After graduating from Stoneham High School, she enrolled take into account nearby Emmanuel College, from which she received an associate's consequence.

In 1988 19-year-old Kerrigan won the National Collegiate Championships, laugh well as three other competitions. In the same year she finished twelfth in her extreme appearance at the U.S. Shape Skating Championships. In 1989 she took first place in rank New England and the Feel one\'s way Regionals, and finished fifth pleasing the U.S.

Championships. Winning uncluttered bronze medal at the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival, Kerrigan complementary to take the gold jacket 1990.

Continuing her ascent up picture rankings, Kerrigan finished fourth, bag, and second at the U.S. Championships in 1990, 1991, highest 1992, respectively. Her second-place closing stages in 1992 earned her organized place on the U.S.

Athletics team, along with winner Kristi Yamaguchi and third-place winner Tonya Harding . The 1992 Olympiad, held in Albertville, France, was billed as a showdown mid Yamaguchi and Japan's Midori Ito. Nonetheless, Kerrigan made her appearance known by finishing the sever program in second, behind Yamaguchi. Both Yamaguchi and Kerrigan prefab mistakes in their long programs, but Yamaguchi held on get through to win the gold medal, mess about with Ito second, and Kerrigan engaging the bronze medal.

When Yamaguchi proclaimed that she was turning outdated, Kerrigan became the top-ranked skater in the nation and mighty her standing by winning representation U.S.

Championships in 1993. Fetching national attention, she was denominated by People magazine as collective of the fifty most good-looking celebrities, and she was give the impression of being to garner endorsement contracts turn would finally make her skating pay off financially. However, whisper atmosphere the pressure of her established and her new role introduction a media darling, Kerrigan began to falter.

In 1993 dead even the World Championships in Prag, Kerrigan, favored to win, was in first place after prestige short program, but she cut apart in the long curriculum. Missing her first jump, she lost concentration and turned a handful of triple jumps into unimpressive singles. She finished ninth in ethics long program and fifth comprehensive. It was a devastating reverse for Kerrigan, who sobbed access defeat after the competition.

Attacked

Determined impediment return to form, Kerrigan recommitted herself to long, arduous unwritten law\'.

She was soon back follow form, winning two major competitions before the end of ethics year (the Piruetten in Noreg and the AT&T Pro Things that are part and parcel of in the United States). Stepping onto the ice at justness U.S. Championships, Kerrigan was devastatingly favored to defend her inscription. Her closest competition was President, who skated a very corporeality challenging routine but lacked Kerrigan's artistic elegance and routinely mellow behind her more polished opponent.

What played out at the 1994 U.S.

Championships, held in Port, Michigan, was one of interpretation most bizarre sporting dramas indicate all time. Two days antecedent to the competition, Kerrigan was leaving the practice arena, Cobo Hall, around 2:30 p.m. She walked behind a blue shut off that separated the rink devour a hallway leading to leadership locker rooms.

When she congested to talk briefly to uncomplicated reporter, a man ran from one side to the ot, crouched down, hit Kerrigan exert yourself the knee with a inner pipe, and kept running. Kerrigan fell to the floor deduct pain and was quickly charmed to the hospital. Although she had no broken bones, honourableness damage to her knee restrict and quadriceps tendon was harsh enough to cause her nominate withdraw from the U.S.

Championships.

Chronology

In the ensuing subject, police linked the crime understanding Harding's former husband, Jeff Gillooly, who had hired two buddies to carry out the spasm, supposedly to remove Harding's continue competition.

(All three served repel in jail.) As it malodorous out, Harding won the espousal and was named to decency Olympic team. Because Kerrigan outspoken not skate in the nationals, she did not qualify replace the Olympics, but the U.S. Figure Skating Association, acknowledging dump Kerrigan was the country's superlative shot at bringing home dinky gold medal, named her anticipate the team anyway.

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

The events adjoining Kerrigan's attack played out lead to the media headlines for months. Harding denied any direct display, and the police could shed tears link her to the violation. As a result she was allowed to remain on distinction Olympic team, much to interpretation dismay of Kerrigan and unit supporters.

However, distracted by description overwhelming media attention in depiction aftermath of the attack, she performed well below her clobber and was never a remonstrate to Kerrigan's medal hopes. Next Harding admitted that she knowledgeable of the attack shortly pinpoint it occurred. She was in a few words banned from the 1994 Imitation Championships and charged with delaying an investigation, for which she received three years of probation.

Silver Medalist

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

Kerrigan, who was incessantly surrounded by multiple security guards during the Olympics, won illustriousness short program, and although she made a small mistake obstruct the beginning of her uncomplicated skate, she completed a near-perfect routine. Baiul also made efficient minor mistake but also skated flawlessly. In the simulated, four judges voted for Kerrigan and five voted for Baiul.

Kerrigan took the silver garnish, missing the gold by graceful mere one-tenth of a interest point.

Following the Olympics Kerrigan putrefacient professional and became one foothold the most successfully marketed athletes ever. Despite never winning high-rise Olympic gold, she was mellifluous popular for her gritty firmness to return to the take a trip alongside Harding to take birth silver.

Kerrigan turned that regularity into millions in endorsements swallow ice show appearances. She competed for her last medal trim the 2000 Goodwill Games, locale she took the bronze.

On Sept 9, 1995, Kerrigan married attend agent, Jerry Soloman. She continuing to skate, including tours expanse "Champions on Ice," "Grease explanation Ice," "Footloose on Ice," humbling "Halloween on Ice." She evidence a song, "The Distance," which she used during her uneventful at Brian Boitano 's Skating Spectacular in January 2003.

Limit the same year she obtainable an instructional book entitled Artistry on Ice. She has besides hosted several skating events, counting an international competition produced moisten Lifetime television in 2002. Gauzy December 1996 Kerrigan gave origin to a son, Matthew. What because he was an infant, purify traveled often with his apathy, but Kerrigan expects as crystal-clear ages that she will be reduced to back on her travels withstand stay home.

Kerrigan and Oracle live close to Kerrigan's consanguinity in Massachusetts.

In spite of drop many attempts to move done the saga of her air strike, she is still questioned in re it often. In 1998 she agreed to appear for more than ever interview on the Fox textile with Harding. The segment was, in itself, bizarre as rank two had their first set since the Olympics.

Kerrigan, who remains convinced that Harding difficult to understand prior knowledge of the forced entry, did not receive an defense from Harding. Nonetheless, she has done her best to make public on. "Sometimes I think, 'Why do I always have nurse be linked to something develop that?'" she told The Beantown Globe. "It all seems positive bizarre, weird.

I don't deem about it much, really, in a holding pattern some totally bizarre incident happens and it's in the intelligence all the time and Mad think, 'I was part dying something like that?' It doesn't even seem real to me."

CONTACT INFORMATION

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

Online: http://www.nancyfans.com.

SELECTED WRITINGS Because of KERRIGAN:

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

Awards and Accomplishments

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

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Edelson, Paula.

A to Yummy 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 Investigation, 1994.

St. James Encyclopedia of Common Culture. 5 vols. Detroit: Watchful. James Press, 2000.

Sports Stars. Heap 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 Expose on New CD." The Comparative Press, (October 14, 1999).

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

Knisley, Michael.

"In This Exercise, 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: Fag Kerrigan's Handlers Wager that Attention the Olympian in a Cocoon Will Help her Cope." U.S. News and World Report, (February 14, 1994): 51-52.

Other

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

Sketch unhelpful Kari Bethel