Tonya Harding - Rose In Sport Despite Hardships

Harding began dating Jeff Gillooly, two years her senior, when she was 15, partly to escape a troubled home life. Her parents' marriage was disintegrating, and her alcoholic half-brother expressed interest in her. She dropped out of high school during her sophomore year, and was living with Gillooly by the time she was 18. By then, Harding was already making a name for herself in U.S. Figure Skating Association (USFSA) sanctioned events: she placed sixth in 1986 at her first senior national competition, and made a strong showing at the 1989 championship event in Baltimore. The next year, she defied doctors' orders and skated in the Salt Lake City nationals despite a case of pneumonia, and placed seventh.

Harding did far better in 1991 and earned her first mention in Sports Illustrated when she emerged the surprise first-place finisher at nationals. She stunned spectators, sportswriters, and figure-skating fans at the Minneapolis event when she became the first American woman ever to land a triple axel in competition. "Forty-five seconds into her routine, Harding stroked the length of the ice, coiled and sprang to an improbable height," wrote Swift. "Her pony tail became a blur as she spun. Upon landing, she cried out, 'Yes!' The crowd, recognizing history in this 5 ft. 1 in., 105-pound package of fist-clenching grit, roared." Only Midori Ito of Japan had ever landed the 3½-revolution jump under the duress of competition. Moreover, Harding's transcendence of her background into the rarified world of skating made her an interesting subject. "Harding shatters all stereotypes of the pampered and sheltered figure skater who has spent his or her youth bottled in an ice rink, training," the same Sports Illustrated article noted.

Back home, however, Harding endured personal problems over the next two years that seemed to keep her from skating in top form. Her relationship with Gillooly was problematic; the two divorced August of 1993, but moved in together two months later. Kerrigan, from the Boston area, had emerged as a formidable rival to Harding after a third-place finish in 1991. At the following year's nationals, Kerrigan took the silver medal, with Harding in third place this time. Kerrigan won the U.S. title outright in 1993. The next year, skating fans anticipated a showdown between the two at the Detroit championships, which would finalize their place on the Olympic team.