"Excited" Tonya Harding Shares Message to Fans in Rare Video

In 1994, one day before the U.S. Figure Skating Championship first Ladies' Singles competition and one month before the Winter Olympics, a man clubbed Kerrigan just above the knee with a collapsible baton with a collapsible baton at a skating facility in an attack planned by Harding's ex-husband.

Kerrigan withdrew from the national championship due to her injury, and Harding went on to win the U.S. title, paving the way for her entry to the Lillehammer '94 games, where both competed on the U.S. Olympic team and Kerrigan took home a silver medal.

However, the controversy surrounding the U.S. Skating Championship assault—and whether or not Harding had a role in it—continued to loom.

In 1994, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for covering up the attack and was sentenced to three years' probation and 500 hours of community service and fined $100,000. The U.S. Figure Skating Association issued a lifetime ban for Harding and stripped her of her 1994 national championship title.

An FBI investigation into the assault found that Shawn Eckardt, a friend of Hardin's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, had hired Shane Stant to attack Kerrigan. In 1994, Stant was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree assault. Eckardt and Gillooly both pleaded guilty to racketeering and received 18-month and two-year sentences, respectively.

Harding went on to admit to learning the details of the attack after it occurred, after which she did not report information to authorities.

"I knew something was up," she said on the 2018 ABC News special Truth and Lies: The Tonya Harding Story. "I did, however, overhear [Eckhardt and Gillooly] talking about stuff, where, 'Well, maybe we should take somebody out so we can make sure she gets on the team.'"

The incident, one of the biggest sports controversies of all time, has continued to linger in the public consciousness, and even served as inspiration for the 2017 movie I, Tonya, with Margot Robbie playing Harding and Allison Janney playing her mom, which won her an Oscar.

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In the years since, Harding has spoken out about the attack, noting that she was focused on the future. "It was 20 years ago and I don't remember lots and lots of it," Harding told USA Today in 2014. "I know it was a horrible time for everyone involved. It was a bad streak, going through all the crud, and I was able to rise above it. I think Nancy and I have good lives now."

Both athletes have returned to the spotlight in recent years. As for Kerrigan, she competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2017 before she was eliminated halfway through the season, while Harding joined the series in 2018, coming in third place with partner Sasha Farber.

"I am taking away a new friendship for life," Harding told E! News at the time, "and newfound love for America.”