Tonya Harding is a figure skater who became famous not only for her outstanding sports achievements, but also for scandals. This girl is the second athlete in the history of figure skating, but at the same time the first American to complete the triple axel.
Its main achievement is the championship in the United States in figure skating in 1991 and one of the prizes of the World Cup. Tony Harding's biography is forever tarnished - she became scandalously famous in the late nineties, because of which, in fact, she herself ruined her skater career.
Children and teenagers
Tony Harding was born in mid-November 1970 in Portland (Oregon, USA). Her father, Al Harding, was often ill and was unable to work because of her health; her mother, La Vonna, used violence against her daughter, according to Tony herself. True, the woman subsequently denied her daughter’s statement and claimed that she even sewed dresses for her performances with her own hands.
Tony Harding did not graduate from school - the girl left the school, not having had time to finish her studies literally two years, but she began to actively engage in figure skating. And her career progressed.
Already from childhood, the girl appeared on the ice and showed amazing results. She could perform elements that did not work out even among adult skaters. Coaches noted the incredible performance and talent of the girl.
First wins and first defeats
The first competitions in which Tony Harding participated (photo below) took place in 1986, but the girl did not take a prize in them, she was listed sixth in the final table.
At the U.S. Championship, a year later, the athlete had already risen one line higher, in 1988 she reached fourth place, and received a bronze award a year later - in 1989.
In 1990, she had the opportunity to speak at a more serious competitive level. However, the girl caught a cold, which opened an old illness - asthma, because the program was not carried out cleanly and Tony took only 7th place.
Breakthrough
After 2 years, there was a real breakthrough in Tony's career - at the US Championship in 1991, the girl performed a triple axel and received 6.0 for equipment, thanks to which she stood on the podium and received well-deserved gold. As a result, for all his short sports career as a figure skater, Tony completed only 4 triple axels.
At the Grand Prix stage in 1991, she showed such abilities that many modern athletes still do not show. But in 1992, the girl was injured, because of this, she took only third place at the US Championship. After some time, the pre-Olympic season began. And then it was the turn of the 1992 Winter Olympics. However, Tony failed to win prizes. The skater became the fourth.
Scandal and retirement
At one of the competitions, Tony's main rival was Nancy Kerrigan. Unexpectedly for the audience, the girl was hit on the leg, which is why she withdrew from the competition. Instead, Harding took the first place - she became the US champion for the second time.
After this incident, she managed to break into the 1994 Olympics, however, the athlete could not climb the pedestal - she took only eighth place. Kerrigan, who recovered from the injury, received silver.
After some time, a message came that Tony had dishonestly won the championship in the US Championship, as she had agreed with her ex-husband that Nancy Carrigan should hit the leg. The attacker needed to knock the athlete’s kneecaps, but he missed and fell above the knee. The public stirred up a wave of indignation. The same video was played on television - with the wailing of the victim athlete.
A serious scandal erupted. Tony denied any involvement in the crime, but her ex-husband testified against her. 3 years of probation, 500 hours of community service, a large-scale fine was received by everyone who was involved in this crime.
Protection and life after
Many sports companies allocated a lot of money in order to organize a fund for the protection of Tony, someone took her side, fans kept saying "everyone is mistaken, " "and there are spots in the sun." However, the American Figure Skating Association decided to strip the woman of all titles and remove him from figure skating for life.
For many years, Harding assured the public that she was innocent. In 2008, an autobiography was published, in which she tells about what she knew about the impending attack and even wanted to warn the security service. However, she was threatened, therefore, fearing for herself, she did not dare to take this step. However, ex-husband Tony Harding, who had just been released, only laughed at these testimonies.
