Figure skater Tonya Harding is making a return to the rink.
Harding, 55, is preparing for the public skating show “Tonya and Friends” on December 12 at Mountain View Ice Arena in Vancouver, Washington. In an interview with KOIN 6 News, Harding shared that she has been skating twice a week in an effort to stay in shape in case she had the opportunity to perform again.
“The love of skating is the reason why I’ve always come back,” Harding said. “I just can’t walk away from it.”
While Harding’s upcoming show is not a competition, she hopes to bring her A-game for the fans who show up to watch.
“I just want people to come out and have fun and be able to enjoy a real skating show,” she said, adding, “It makes my heart feel good. And I am really glad people can come see me skate again.”
For her return, Harding has been working on jumps and spins and using a harness to build back her strength. She has been helped by two coaches, including Dody Teachman. Harding and Teachman have known each other since the early 1990s.
“She’s a force all her own,” Teachman said of Harding.
After becoming the first woman to land a triple axel in competition at the 1991 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Harding competed at both the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics. In 1994, Harding made headlines when competitor Nancy Kerrigan was struck in the knee with a baton by a hitman hired by Harding’s then-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and then-bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt.
Harding pleaded guilty in 1994 to a charge of “conspiracy to hinder prosecution” in relation to the assault on Kerrigan. Harding received three years probation and was issued a $160,000 fine. Three months later, Harding was banned from U.S. Figure Skating for life.
Years later, Harding reflected on her reputation — and how her faith has kept her going — in a 2017 ABC News special for the Truth and Lies docuseries.
“Is it a challenge from the Lord to see how far I can be pushed until I break and become nothing? You can’t push me that far anymore, because I’ve been nothing and I’ve been nothing several times,” she said at the time. “But it’s my faith in myself and in my father that comes back to me and makes me get back up off my butt and be something worth being proud of. I always wanted my daddy to be proud. And now, I want my son to be proud.”
