I disagree that Kerrigan would not have done as well without the drama of the assault. Kerrigan and Oksana Baoul were the top two female skaters in the world at that time. Harding was a borderline olympian that had a chance at competing for a medal, but no chance of beating Kerrigan. The judges had pretty much decided by the semi-final round that the gold medal was Oksana’s unless she totally tanked in the finals round. Even though Kerrigan outskated her, the judges saved their highest scores for Oksana.
I remember both perfomances, and was naturally rooting for Nancy, being from Massachusetts and considering that she had rehabbed herself as well. I was stunned when the judges gave the Gold to Oksana. I do agree that there was a wave of sympathy for Nancy, but her skating was wonderful anyway.
“The judges had pretty much decided by the semi-final round that the gold medal was Oksana’s unless she totally tanked”
Nice,,, It’s silly to try to score an event that doesnt have an objective measure of success. Only farthest, fastest, highest, etc. should get medals,,, the others are rigged.