Tonya Harding

Tonya Maxene Price is a former American figure skater, retired boxer, and reality television personality. She was the first American woman to successfully land a triple Axel in competition, and the second woman to do so in history. In 1994, Harding became embroiled in controversy when her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, orchestrated an attack on her fellow U.S. skating rival Nancy Kerrigan. She accepted a plea bargain in which she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution. As a result of her involvement in the assault on Kerrigan, the United States Figure Skating Association banned her for life on June 30, 1994.

About Tonya Harding in brief

Tonya Maxene Price is a former American figure skater, retired boxer, and reality television personality. She was the first American woman to successfully land a triple Axel in competition, and the second woman to do so in history. In 1994, Harding became embroiled in controversy when her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, orchestrated an attack on her fellow U.S. skating rival Nancy Kerrigan. She accepted a plea bargain in which she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution. As a result of her involvement in the assault on Kerrigan, the United States Figure Skating Association banned her for life on June 30, 1994. In 2018, she was a contestant on season 26 of Dancing with the Stars, finishing in third place. In 2014, two television documentaries were produced about Harding’s life and skating career – inspiring Steven Rogers to write the 2017 film I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie as Harding. In her 2008 authorized biography, The Tonya Tapes, she said she was the victim of acquaintance rape in 1991 and that her half-brother, Chris Davison, molested her on several occasions when she was young. In January 2018, Harding’s childhood friend and filmmaker, Sandra Luckow, spoke in defense of Harding’s mother because she felt that the 2017 movie stretched some truths about LaVona Golden’s character. Harding said her parents were in denial about Davison’s behavior and told her not to press criminal charges against him. Davison was killed in an unsolved vehicular hit-and-run accident in 1988.

In the mid-1980s, she began working her way up the competitive skating ladder and was considered a strong contender at the February 1990 U. S. Championships. She then won the 1989 Skate America competition. In February 1990, Harding began training with Dody Teachman as her coach. After competing in the February 1989 Nationals, she competed in the March 1990 Championships, and was fifth in 1987 and third in 1989. She had been the 1991 and 1994 U. s. champion before being stripped of her 1994 title, and 1991 World silver medalist. In 1991, she earned distinction as being the firstAmerican woman to successful land a three- Axel. She later dropped out of high school to devote her time to the sport. Harding claimed she was frequently abused by her mother. She stated that by the time she was seven years old, physical and psychological abuse had become a regular part of her life. Her mother admitted to one instance of hitting Harding at an ice rink, and hand-sewed her daughter’s skating costumes as they could not afford to purchase them. Harding’s parents divorced after 19 years of marriage in 1987, and she was 16 years old when her parents divorced. Harding also hunted, drag raced, and learned automotive mechanics from her father, who held various odd jobs including managing apartments, driving a truck, and working at a bait and-tackle store – yet was often underemployed due to poor health.

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