Nancy Kerrigan - Reaction on Oksana Baiul Winning Gold

Why? Why?

Baiul won because the Russian judges were corrupt, and were later put on notice by the Olympic committee. They always gave the Russian competitors higher marks, so blatantly so that even the skating authorities had to eventually admit it!

A couple of weeks after the Olympics, a skating-geek friend and I went over all the major performances for that year. In every case a Russian won, even though the silver medalist in all four categories had given a better performance, and one that was more technically difficult.

Oksana's two-footed landing was kind of a joke. But we have had such worse judging scandals since it doesn't register anymore.

Kerrigan didn't have a leg to stand on.

Nancy is such an arrogant bitch that you almost want to root for Tonya.

Truthfully, Nancy was an amateur and was lucky to have gotten as far as she did. Most of it was due to the public feeling sorry for her over the accident.

Harding was a much better skater, and would have easily won the medal had people not thumbed their nose at her because of her white trash roots and made her feel like she was nothing compared to WASP privlieged Kerrigan. Thus the reason for the clubbing.

R6 Tonya at her prime was better than Nancy at her prime, but Tonya was way past her prime at that point.

Also, Nancy was not "privileged." She came from a working class background. But yes, she wasn't white trash like Tonya.

It was a miracle NK skated a clean program that night.

I can't find the clip of Nancy being an ice queen to Mickey Mouse... help, DL.

Nancy looks like she smells stinky pussy......

It was always cold war judging, countries aligned with the east voted for eastern skaters and countries aligned with the U.S voted for western skaters.

Nancy sucked

No one gave a fuck about Figure Skating until the bashing. Soooo... pros and cons

[quote]No one gave a fuck about Figure Skating until the bashing. Soooo... pros and cons

Or after.

Homophobic piece of shit, Scott Hamilton, said the clubbing was THE worst thing to ever happen to figure skating.

Harding was a better JUMPER. That's it. When she missed those, she had nothing else to pull up her scores.

Why do people hate nancy ? She made this sport fun!

Without Nancy ( and Tonya) figure skating would have been as boring back then as it is now.

That video where she complains to Mickey Mouse about having to take part in a Disneyland parade is even funnier.

Well Nancy didn't have much elegance either, R17, she could strike elegant poses and hold them but she had absolutely no grace or flow. Well, a bit more than Harding, but less than any of the better skaters.

Nancy was not the most elegant skater, but her presentation was light years better than Truck Driver Tonya.

Its OK by me if its Oksana Baiul

Nancy's performance was dull, bland and stiff just like herself. If a scarecrow could ice-skate, it would be like Nancy.

Tonya may not have been elegant, but there used to be room for all types in figure skating. After the scandal, everyone was getting Bezicized and Vera Wanged and it stopped being about the best package (although, even as I typed that, it was never about being the best skater, but about your federation backing you). Someone like Caryn Kadavy, who was both athletic and graceful, was never going to get gold in Calgary (even without that flu) because the US was pipping Debi Thomas. Liz Manley may have won the free skate, but only because the judges knew she could win the free skate without getting gold; gold was always going to either Thomas or Witt.

In 1994, the US tried to get that gold for Kerrigan based on the scandal, but the Eastern bloc was already in place for little orphan Oksana.

Then how did Lipinski get the gold four years later, r25? Wasn’t the USFSA behind Michelle Kwan?

r26, supposedly there were people pissed within USFSA about Danny Kwan's interference. This also supposedly extended to certain judges who flat out disliked Danny Kwan and were hoping for an alternative.

I've never understood, nor heard a good answer, whether the unnamed judge deliberately lied to Danny when he was told, "She just needs to skate clean," or whether there was some combination of Schadenfreude and kismet in how Tara got the votes. Having rewatched the programs recently, Tara definitely skates with more joy, but Kwan is clearly the better skater skating the better program. So, I do wonder whether people really wanted to punish Danny by going with the other option.

2002 is a more interesting case, as the USFSA was definitely behind Kwan, but with the Eastern bloc firmly behind Slutskaya, Hughes wins a gold with the best skate of the night, but Kwan only needed the American judge to place her second (instead of third, behind Slutskaya) to create the scenario where she wins gold a la Katarina Witt (losing the free skate, but placing second to win the overall).

Nancy was championed by the big businesses who thought she would be the next great product endorser. Her biggest asset - she was white. Kristi Yamaguchi was the Olympic champion, but she got very few endorsements, because she was not seen as "American." Nancy's behavior, illustrated by the Disney fiasco, made her unpalatable to the public, and she was abandoned by the advertisers. She was the great white hope, but blew it, culminating in her breaking up a marriage by being the "other woman."

What did Danny Kwan do that pissed off so many people? It was weird the way Michelle left Frank Carroll who helped make her into the skater she was.

Bitch stole her look.

Oksana just had the X Factor and a few sob stories to elevate her to the gold medal.

That is a shame because I thought Kristi was adorable, R28. It was always fun holding ones breath during her Triple Salchow attempts.

I've always disliked her.

R33 that clip seems to have been scrubbed clean from the internet.

I think it's in the 30 for 30 Gold documentary.

Interesting, R27. Of course, Michelle fell, and it wouldn't have been fair, but I think so many people wanted her to win they would have just gone with it if Michelle had won.

Of course, with Sotnikova beating Kim in 2014, anything goes now and nobody would even bat an eyelash. That was seriously some bullshit.

I think the judges fell in love with Oksana at the 1993 Worlds, with her graceful carriage and arm positions. I think they decided then that she would be the top choice for the Olympics and would win the gold as long as she didn't fall. The rest were just contenders for the silver. The Tonya/Nancy thing was just a huge sideshow. I remember an interview with the judge Jan Hoffman, a former skater from Germany. It was said that his mark, 0.1 higher for Oksana, was the difference that gave the gold to Oksana. In the interview he said that Oksana's program was more artistic, thus he scored it higher on the artistic impression score.

I found Nancy's cunty candor a refreshing break from the usual PR princess bs most skaters blather. Surprised she isn't more popular on DL.

R38 She is with me I love cold hearted bitches like Nancy. Fake nice bitches are so fucking boring!

Nancy deserved that gold. Oksana was propped up by the Eastern block judges. Tonya was a joke at that event.

Props to Nancy for coming back from that assault, not giving up and skating beautifully.

low-key liked that Nacy was a princess cunt not afraid to throw shade. tonya was tough - like a linebacker on skates. she had strength, no grace. probably a good, rough top but the kind you need popped for because they don't know how to warm up a hole properly.

[quote]Kristi Yamaguchi was the Olympic champion, but she got very few endorsements, because she was not seen as "American."

I remember that too. Anti-Japanese sentiment was still very much alive at that time. I had a great aunt who was married to World War II POW and they used term "Jap" frequently. Sometime after the 1992 Olympics, we were having some family get together at my grandmother's house and some TV program or commercial had Kristi on and my great aunt said something like "Oh, no there's the dirty little Jap girl".

When Nancy's loser brother got into an argument with their father at 2:00 AM over the use of a telephone, he grabbed his father by the throat, crushed his larynx and incited a fatal heart attack.

Her brother was arrested, tried, found guilty and served prison time.

Nancy publicly supported her brother throughout the trial.

"Harding was a much better skater, and would have easily won the medal had people not thumbed their nose at her because of her white trash roots and made her feel like she was nothing compared to WASP privlieged Kerrigan. Thus the reason for the clubbing."

Bullshit. Tonya Harding was not Olympic medal material. She was totally undisciplined. And "the reason for the clubbing" was that Kerrigan was a better skater, her stiffest competition. That's why she was clubbed; with her out of the running Harding had an advantage. Harding fought to compete in the Olympics despite her role in Kerrigan's attack; when her time came to do her routine she didn't even have the right shoelaces on her skates! Anyway, Kerrigan was the superior skater by far. Harding could do some jumps, but she had no class, no style, no attractiveness. No wonder she tried to get rid of Kerrigan; Kerrigan had everything she DIDN'T have.

who gives a flying fuck!?

The cripple still looks good.

Oksana, keeping it classy as always.

I'd rather have the life that Nancy has had, post-Olympics. Didn't Oksana have a serious problem with alcohol? I do believe her life was almost as trashy as Tonya's.

R43 I remember my grandma saying something about The Japs in the early 90s. She still remembered WW2. I guess it was only 50 years from her hey day. She would nod at me to not trust 'The Japs.'

Now no one gives a shit and I take hapa Jap dick and it's fine. Love the Jap bf. I'm really glad he's cool and not phased by stupidity.

Wasn't Nancy a little home wrecker? Is she still married to the louse that left his 2nd wife and child for 19 years younger Nancy? Wasn't he her manager?

R49 Yes, Oksana had a drinking problem and IIRC, she had a DUI. WEHT Oksana?

Don't trust the Japs!

Oksana faded almost immediately, and not just because she was a mess in her personal life. Who wouldn't be, with her background? She was the textbook case of Too Much Too Soon!

But her skating went to hell very fast as well. She turned pro and I saw her perform several times, the thing is she'd been an immature 16 when she won the medal, and as her adult body came along, she lost the ability to do the big jumps. Or maybe she got lazy when she turned pro, and stopped training as if her life depended on it. But yeah, she lost her technical edge almost immediately but still looked great, her biggest asset was always her grace and extraordinary musicality. She could do the ballet moves like a real ballet dancer, and I say that as a long-term balletomane.

I remember as a gayling being surprised Yamaguchi not getting more endorsements (and also how Kerrigan seemingly jumped the line on Harding). Mind you, we all know the stories now, but in the pre-Internet days, it was still obvious Yamaguchi was not white (or white enough) for middle America, which is why Kerrigan seemed to get so many endorsements so quickly after Yamaguchi retired. Harding may have been white, but she was not exactly endorsement material (and that also corresponds to the Gilooly period, which was terrible for her training and attitude).

Nancy lost her endorsements when the public became aware of her personality, which was as stiff as her skating.

How did Nancy and her husband end up with a black son? They both appear lily wihite

I wish ice skating were more like gymnastics, with more different events (floor, beam, bars, vault). In gymnastics, it's more apparent what someone's technical abilities are, especially on the beam and vault. In ice skating, the judging is too subjective (not "graceful" enough, etc.), IMO.

What’s colder than dry ice?

I’ll tell you what is.....Oksana.

I'm just happy Surya ended up happy in the end being a coach.

Her, Harding and Ito were my faves.

Who was trashier? Tonya or Nicole Bobek?

In 1995 or 1996, I volunteered for a figure skating fundraiser hosted by a local children’s charity. Oksana Baiul had been signed to appear at the event. The charity advertised the heck out of it, and the event sold out quickly. The night of the event, everybody behind the scenes was freaking out because when Oksana arrived at the rink, she said she never agreed to perform. She ended up skating just one quick lap around the rink with the junior skaters who did perform, then signed autographs...until one of the autograph seekers complained to her about not being able to see her skate at least one routine. Oksana burst into tears and refused to sign any more autographs, abandoning an long line of kids and parents who had been waiting patiently. The charity ended up refunding everyone’s money, and the local newspaper blasted both the charity and Oksana’s management for the “miscommunication” that led to the fiasco.

Fast forward 20 years....I met a photographer who used to work many professional figure skating events. Being a skating geek, I asked him about other professional skaters, what they were like, etc. He had nice things to say about most of them...except Oksana. He said she was a mess. I told him about the charity event, and he said he wasn’t surprised because she pulled that stunt a lot, reneging on commitments to perform when she didn’t feel like it.

EMPRESS OF ICE®

I loved the French black girl who did incredible backflips (at least when they were allowed in competition) and also Philippe Candeloro who almost always took off his shirt and showed a lovely hairy chest. Whatever happened to them?

Surya Bonaly, I think? She was great, a very exciting skater. I also used to like Brian Boitano -- did he ever come out?

This is a Nancy Kerrigan thread, not a Surya Bonaly or a Brian Girltano thread.

Surya Bonaly was incredibly cunty, She did one of those backflips almost right on top of Midori Ito, in order to psych her out (Ito was one of the frontrunners for the gold). It spooked her badly she fell on one of her jumps but in her next program she astonishingly did a triple axel, the first woman to land one in the Olympics. She ended up winning the silver, but if Bonaly hadn't been such an uber-cunt she probably would have won the gold.

How dizzy do they get? Spinning axels like that?

Suriya was a cunty disaster, and that's why I adored her. Those hideous costumes! Her FUCK YOU flips!

Suriya was amazing. My favorite Suriya moment is when she won silver to I think Nancy winning the gold and she threw the medal down and stormed off of the ice.

If you haven't seen her episode of Losers on Netflix, it catches you up with her life.

Some friends and I had a skating drinking game back in the day. We put however many skaters were in a group #'s in a hat and everyone drew #'s. Whatever #'s you got went with the skater that skated in that # of the group. You did a shot if any of the listed items happened during your skater(s).

Does anyone have a theory Why So much of the posts on this board revolve around discussing tabloid news events of the distant past? Is it the work of one OP who spent a lot of the 90s in front of entertainment tonight and hardcopy and wants to relive those days? It’s just that there’s a lot going on in the world and a lot to learn about.

[quote] They always gave the Russian competitors higher marks

Baiul isn’t Russian, she’s Ukrainian, R2:

[quote] Baiul is the first and only skater representing Ukraine to win gold at the Winter Olympics.

Whatever happened to the other Oksana? She was on “60 Minutes” (I think) and she was nutso, doing a Marilyn Monroe impression.

Trump supporter

I'm curious who would have won under the current skating rules, i'm guessing Kerrigan because she had a better technical score since Baiul 2 footed some landings which im not sure were called in 94.

There were supposed to be called, but Bauil's were "overlooked."

After 2002 when vote trading was uncovered in the pairs event im curious if any of the judges traded a vote for something else.

Kerrigan and her family were just as trashy as the maligned Tonya Harding, but it was just less immediately obvious. Her brother did off her father after all.

Oksana lives in Atlanta and she will get all of you.

R79 Atlanta? I would not have guessed.

Wikipedia says she lives in Vegas now. I guess she moves around.

R75 Whoever the fuck the judges wanted, just as before. Code of Points seems to have made things more rigged, not less. They just give out the Grade of Execution like candy to whomever they want to win.

R71 the world today is fucking horrendous in many ways and only getting worse. Also, if we want to discuss it just go to any site with news articles and comments. We discuss obscure things that aren’t really discussed anywhere else.

Oksana Grishuk changed her names to Pasha when Oksana Baiul became such a big star. She was also a Ukrainian skater of the same period.

Pasha was a two time gold medalist in ice dancing with Evgeni Platov. I hated their skating style though I found him to be sexy as hell. They may have deserved one gold medal but absolutely not their second win. Torvill and Dean made their comeback and only won the bronze in 1998. It was a travesty but those were the days when ranking was pre-ordained and even a great performance did not impact results.

I remember Platov telling the story on TV of how Oksana G told him she was going to change her name to Pasha. His response was “Why not Grasha?” I still laugh about that one.

She had a big personality, was reasonably attractive and wanted to be a movie star but she went absolutely nowhere in Hollywood.