Tonya Harding-Gillooly - 1993 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Ladies' Free Skate

Phoenix, Arizona, USA - 1993 United States Figure Skating Championships, Ladies' Free Skate - Tonya Harding-Gillooly was suffering from a cold by the time the Free Skate portion of the competition took place. It would affect her ability to attack and land her triple jumps. In the end, should land only 2 of them and would drop from 2nd to 4th Place overall.

[@danstafford5977]

Some people are very envious of Tonya Harding's well-developed legs... they need to keep their rude and sarcastic remarks to themselves!!

[@jena.alexia]

She's athletic and a very powerful skater. She may not be as lithe and elegant as Kerrigan but there's no reason she couldn't have gone all the way if she'd had more faith in herself.

[@lucadicastiglione4599]

She was absolutely great!

[@Jhojsh101]

Not her best, but deserved the silver or bronze at the very least.

[@rogeriokiokobayashi6954]

Eu acho ela a melhor, rápida, saltava alto para fazer os saltos axel.

[@danstafford5977]

Tonya Harding has well-developed legs, unlike the other skaters that have spider legs!

[@noaifekoya]

Learn to compliment someone without having to bring down other people

[@Mehd.J81]

Her best year was 1991 ( 1st us national , 2nd at the worlds, 1st skate America). She was fit , well trained, at the top of her form . She was cleary better than Kerrigan at this Time . But since Albertville 1992, she was fat, smoked cigarettes despite Asthma, and had many personnal problems. In 1993, the judges knew that and decided not to qualify her to the worlds in order to give her a good lesson like the russians did with Slutskaya in 1999!

[@gnarlycat]

Wow this was painful to watch. 93 was not her year

[@jja8750]

Even though she didn't skate great and Dick & Peggy acknowledged that ... I really love how both commentators made several mentions about how Tonya had improved on her artistry and how great some of her spins and moves were (ina bauer, etc). She was appreciated by Dick & Peggy.

[@grantnoroyan4083]

MAYBE SO HOWEVER she was not even close to being an artistic skater she was a powerful jumper thats all

[@martinocoreano]

She deserved at least bronze...

[@dashoverton1963]

Had she skated cleanly, she could’ve beat Kerrigan easily here. Kerrigan was very mediocre.

[@valmacclinchy]

Agree 100%!

[@kelsey1406]

I think this is my favorite of Tonya's costumes! So feminine and pretty!

[@blakereed1654]

My favorite costume of hers is the one she wore at the 1991 World Skating Championships. It was vibrant and perfectly suited to the performance and her skating style. She was all about the sequins!

[@Summer-ju4pj]

I like her outfit. It kinda cute

[@Cmc995]

Im sorry but regardless of her wardrobe malfunction in the short program, was way better than the other women's skating. This long program, was a mess, however she should have been metaled second or third, not fourth

[@ewanoxborrow1024]

955pokerface I completely agree, Kerrigan shouldn’t have won either...her performance was far from perfect, average at best

[@miloandtock1]

Well, even though she doubled the lutz, fell on the toe loop (without combo) and stepped out of the loop (normally solid for her), she still deserved to be second or third here...Ervin - too young, not enough technical (no flip/lutz or combo) and Tonia K's program was a mess and in no way technically or artistically superior...but the judges - held something against Tonya...had she been put on the world team she surely would have been top 5 or 10 (and not 13th like Ervin and NOT EVEN QUALIFIED for final like Kwiatkowski)

[@kioftouch]

Right? She never placed below 8th place in her entire career.

[@joccskates4497]

@@kioftouch and at this point her lowest placing was 6th so there was no reason to not send hee

[@Juice_Lover123]

Sending Ervin was an awful idea. At least Kwiatkowski, on a good day, had every jump. Ervin got unusually lucky here that Toe Loops and Salchows *somehow* got her onto the podium like it was still 1986... and that was the extent of her ability. It wasn't as if she claimed to be able to do more. Kwiatkowski COULD have been top 10 if she was even at 75% "on". Ervin never had a chance and was in no way remotely competitive on the world scene. Harding should have gone despite her 4th place finish. That was a huge mistake by the USFSA and it was a definite message to Harding.

[@markhayes1008]

This was not horrible! Should have been at world's...sigh...

[@djas456]

Never really that consistent at all

[@gregorygahris9358]

I am just going to say this about all those that bash Tonia K's inability at World's to qualify. You all seem to forget that for almost every skater, if their is personal issues going on in a skater's life it shows up in their skating. The USFSA knew well the turmoil that was going on in Harding's life and this shows in her marks and ordinals. Tonia K's father, to whom it is obvious in other reports was very close to her, was in critical condition at the Worlds this year. So, give the girl a break. During this time, I was a fan of both and I followed all of the girls during these days.

[@kioftouch]

I'm pissed they didn't put her on the team, She would've finished in the top 5 in the worlds, Possibly higher than Nancy, The two who qualified flopped, they didn't even finish in the top 10!

[@valmacclinchy]

She was always better than Nancy.

[@FlabbyTitmuss]

Absolutely no guarantee that she finishes top five at Worlds given how well that event was skated.

[@Itstonytime77]

She should have gone to worlds at least she would have been in the top 10 and the the events of 1994 wouldn’t have been necessary.

[@caseystrapp281]

love that opening salchow. too bad it was all down hill from there.

[@GaryGarlic]

She was def out of shape in 93 and probably didn't train the way an elite skater should. But the ability was there and putting Tonia and Lisa above her was laughable.

[@smoothALOE]

Technically, this program had fewer mistakes than Kerrigan's. Artistically, there's no comparison, but Tonya was scored unfairly.

[@americansunbeam]

She was a great skater, but after the attack on Nancy, I would never take her seriously.

[@richardlanderos5526]

Kerrigan & Harding equally skated crappy programs! LOL!!! From the two, Tonya should have won

[@marcblunk542]

Richard Landeros meh

[@natew5694]

That particular year (which was a weird one), this should have been no less than 3rd, maybe 2nd.

[@Jhojsh101]

Not her best, but deserved the silver or bronze at the very least.

[@rogeriokiokobayashi6954]

Eu acho ela a melhor, rápida, saltava alto para saltar os saltos axel

[@janvan113]

No matter what, Tonya had the skill and talent to be one of the world's best skaters. She proved that over and over again all those years ago. Despite minor mistakes here and there, which all skaters have had to cope with off and on, she was one of the very best skaters of her time, maybe of all time. She will never get the credit due to her. But from my corner, Team Tonya. Love Nancy as well. Both very gifted and talented skaters, they have both given us some of our most treasured moments of watching women skate.

[@NoodlesEaton]

I agree. She was better than Kerrigan.

[@xsomili5501]

Sigh.. injustice

[@marcblunk542]

Aoi Shania bologna

[@abshalommil-alsberg1997]

Choreographed very well. Sees a big difference with longer phrases. Believes she was suffering with asthma which messed with her technical ability during this run.

[@Dylvente]

@JNagarya I can't argue with your characterization of her. It hurts to say so because she was my favorite skater. They did award her the marks when she did well, but I still think that here they made a mistake. I believe she would have at least qualified for competition at Worlds had they sent her.

[@Dylvente]

I think they got it wrong here. Marked her too low on the second mark, I think. She still should have been put on the World team.

[@valmacclinchy]

Absolutely 100%

[@crispyorsmthnidk5314]

This actually might be my favorite program of hers. I think it has the most artistry and the jumps are laid out in a unique way for her. Shame she never skated it clean. I like to think if she landed just one or two more triples she would’ve medaled and made worlds, but who knows 🤷🏻‍♂️. It’s always a question of what could have been with tonya.

[@anthbig]

"She's a SPINNER alright!!"

[@usask8rboy]

Why she was not I on the World Team is beyond me!

[@chocolatesupport]

The fix was in, and the USFSA paid the price at World's '93. Even years later, it's still clear that the judges/USFSA looked for any little reason to put Ervin and Kwiatkowski on the team, while putting Kerrigan as their girl. It was said that Tonya (and her asthma) was affected by Phoenix's thick air, and perhaps this was a reason why the ladies event at this year's U.S. nationals was weak overall. Look at the practise videos graciously shared on youtube, and you'll see that Tonya was skating with her normal attack, even improving from her out-of-shape Fall 1992, so it must have been the Phoenix air. Despite her being so FAR away from her usual capability (technical/presentation, everything), this was enough to be on the world team combined with her factor of being almost a shoo-in for the top 10 at World's. The USFSA made a huge mistake, and some say their error only helped Tonya's camp (not her) to think of their ideas and do their actions during the infamous 93-94 skating season.

[@uky1985]

The whole entire world team for that year was crappy. We really didn't have a chance there.

[@natew5694]

yep

[@auntiechercher4266]

The joke was on them because the World team that they did send ending up losing an Olympic spot for the US team at the 94" Olympics. (Perhaps some of this was against Tonya for not doing so well at the 92" Worlds).

[@searanch32]

What happened to the video of her SP? Get deleted?

[@Jhojsh101]

Not her best, but deserved the silver or bronze at the very least.

[@jgmdewilde4112]

Indeed!

[@rfillangi]

@TeamKween2010 I think if she had made it to Worlds she could have finished in the Top 5. I don't see the events of 1994 happening in that case.

[@marcblunk542]

rfillangi would've, should've, could've... but you'll never know now.

[@ravenel2]

Everyone is doing this with Tonya now-oh, look at her, she’s a fantastic skater, that must mean she was always scored unfairly and she should have been handed every national or international medal over everyone else whether she was able to skate a program or not. I like Tonya’s skating but this idolatry is bizarre.

[@e2theeyepie]

@@ravenel2 It's like folks think they're suddenly knowledgeable skating experts just because they saw "I, Tonya." YEESH.

[@valmacclinchy]

@@ravenel2 nope. I'm Gen X. I remember watching all of this live. Tonya was always exciting to watch. Not only were her jumps insanely high, her spins were incredible. She was consistently underscored.

[@waynehentley4332]

@@valmacclinchy Not true! She was too inconsistent. She was at the top of her game in 90/91only. She was too inconsistent from 92 to 94. You never knew what to expect.

[@buffyslays5260]

Usfsa made a mistake here, if only they qualified her and not the 2 they would have a top skater in the worlds,maybe not the gold but certainly a medal. And sure beat nancy.

[@timothyhh]

Uhhh, no way, she had been sliding downhill for over a year by this point. Clearly not training so why reward that and send her to Worlds? Plus with the introduction of the qualifying round that year there's a chance she wouldn't have even made it through (not that Tonia Kwiatkowski did either). Being left off the team should've been a wake up call to her, but noooooooooooope.

[@Inessence4]

Timothy Horning that wasn’t enough though. They also refused to give her a bye to Nationals the next year and made her qualify again by knocking back her down to Regionals. Obviously, it was personal and not just sending her a message.

[@thomasszymanski1107]

@@Inessence4 unreal that they did that. wow. just wow.

[@juligiss]

Pueden agregar subtítulos en español? Gracias

[@deannawitt9376]

Skaters have strong legs. I have them....I was a skater...man I loved it. I loved her but she needed to stop smoking and cut out her crazy life so she could really focus. That was her issue . I know she could deliver ....

[@AllenJones-w3p]

The US Figure Skating Association treated Tonya like dirt when they denied her the chance to skate at the 1993 Worlds.

[@ivanlavouras]

I love Tonya but this wasnt her best

[@pittie565]

always wondered, do figure skaters get a "high" when the crowd cheers or just in general?

[@itsallgoodman1244]

M. R. Yes but sometimes they can lose their focus if they just landed an amazing jump thus happened to Tonya in 1991 worlds lp

[@barkingtree88]

@Dylvente I agree completely.... so she struggled on some of her jumps! it just wasn't a good night.... it was irresponsible to send two inexperienced skaters to worlds that year when it was prior to an Olympic year.

[@metsdudenj]

Even though Tonya was a mess and not the best in the US at the time, she should have withdrawn and petitioned onto the team. Sending the disastrous group of Ervin, Kwiatkowski killed the US chances for a gold medal in 1994

[@stevenvalencia6353]

My only pet peeve with her skating is when she jumps she jumps like a pogo stick an has an awkward leg going in an coming out pole vaulting into the double toe in the combinations jumps .other wise her jimping is what made her famous cause if u really look an compare her to the other skaters l around her who have the complete package she really wasnt the BEST!! IN THE WORLD .BUT SHE WAS good when she was on an performing

[@lindaosika7648]

Those jumps!

[@romualdaszapolskasromualda4249]

Super!

[@fbals081]

She should’ve gone to worlds

[@VTMCompany]

5.3?

[@michaeljj43]

i think the judges just got tired of the inconsistencies. the mishaps. and the mishaps continued after this competition. they wanted a skater they could rely on. and tonya harding, as great as she was…i mean look at the speed in her skating…just wasn't the skater they could put faith in.

[@itsallgoodman1244]

You are not wrong, but I just wish she had more support

[@sbe79]

While a case could have been made for Lisa Ervin to win the silver medal here, there was no reason to include her on the team. She was a decent skater, whatever, but when you're sending a skater who -- on her best day -- struggles with the 3 Salchow? I mean, no other major country capable of sweeping a podium would send an entry like that in 1993 so it's peculiar that the US opted to do this the year before an Olympics. She was not artistically great, nor was she technically competitive, so it's interesting that the US still considered her a good choice. Tonia Kwiatkowski was at least capable of most of the triples (but namely the flip and lutz), she just couldn't typically land more than a smattering of 2 in any performance at this point -- at least all the ability existed. But Ervin's "skate of her life" wouldn't have cracked the Top 10 internationally by this time. It was foolish to do this at such an important year and the USFSA really wanted to stick it to Harding to spite their own national talent and future opportunities for all skaters.

[@Cmc995]

3:57 she held onto that one with everything at the end lol

[@kj2139]

I wish people quit blaming her husband. Just because she’s talented doesn’t make her innocent. I swear if she was black, they would make tonya a monster. tonya knew exactly what was going to happen to nancy. She has already admitted to knowing. Tonya was a jealous bitch. & for what? Its not like she didn’t have talent. She admitted to hear her husbands conversation about hurting nancy. Tonya would anything to win

[@Cmc995]

KJ they have been saying tonya is a monster ever since it happened! Not about race

[@valmacclinchy]

Nothing to do with her race. Nothing. She was consistently underscored because she was strong, fast, jumped high, and skated to music that was contemporary, and not the usual classical stuff. And because her family was poor, they made their own costumes. Tonya was always a better skater than Nancy.

[@c.landers9446]

In the full broadcast they mention that she had been hitting the triple axel all week in practice, but decided to take it out since she didn't have time to warm it up and then be the first skater of the group. I've seen video of the practices during this week, but none of those included the triple axel - would be great to see. Also I don't think this dress was a match with Tonya. Whatever happened to the black one she wore in '92? Or even the aqua one she wore for SP in '92 Worlds?

[@alexsdb9712]

It's because she wasn't intending to do the triple axel at these national championships. However, in the practice sessions she was practising the triple toe-triple toe most likely to make up for not attempting the triple axel this time.

[@cynthcorcor126]

No gillooly supreme court justice

[@metsdudenj]

Big mistake not holding this skater up, they sent the two worst possible team members possible- Kwiatkowski who had no business being on the teaml and Ervin a junior skater... this is why she would up attacking Nancy the next year!

[@chriscoyne9717]

metsdudenj yeah a complete travesty! Obviously biased against her.

[@gisazurnieden9058]

SHE didn't attack Nancy. She wasn't the mastermind behind the attack, that was her moronic husband and the actual attacker was one of his equal moronic pals. But yes, she should have been on the world Team.

[@e2theeyepie]

Was there anyone else after Tonia K. and Lisa Ervin who maybe had a plausible shot of making the FS at 1993 Worlds? In hindsight, maybe the World team should've been Kerrigan-Harding-Kwan, LOL!

[@metsdudenj]

@@e2theeyepie Kwan was too young, but Harding should have totally been on the team, I mean she was ranked 3rd in the world coming into the 93 nationals. Utterly stupid, she should have withdrawn and possibly petitioned, but the USFSA was not a fan of Tonya at all!

[@valmacclinchy]

Correction: she never attacked Nancy. Her loser ex and bodyguard gave Nancy the bruise on her knee.

[@jewlmc17]

Tonya fans are blind lol. She had her moments but she's horrid here

[@officeaddict33]

+Julie McDonnell - Still a fan but '93 was the begin of her slide down into the end of her career. She was out of shape and not trained. If she was trained and in good shape she could've easily beaten Kerrigan, who at this point in her career was still wracked by nerves. It was her own doing, or undoing really.

[@louisgrassimedium]

I am a Tonya fan; there are loads of aspects of this program that I do enjoy watching, good & bad, heck- probably just because they're Tonya! But hey- what a slick double Axel combo and a strong triple flip. However, yes, for every amazing moment, there were a few really bad ones, but Tonya herself- I firmly suggest- took this as an bleak, HARSH wake-up call. She knew this was her livelihood. She's even admitted herself in loads of interviews that this was her LIVELIHOOD. So, she had the harsh realization post-THIS performance that something needed to change. Unfortunately, this is when a quiet, smoldering-hot mess of controversy came slinking into media reports, and yada yada yada...!!!!!!! We all know the rest, really!!!!

[@rickram1961]

100% agreed all the way with you Julie!

[@chriscoyne9717]

This is not horrid, not clean at all, but a lot of female skaters then could dream of skating a program like this! Lol

[@marcblunk542]

Julie McDonnell exactly! The look on her face says she doesn't want to be there

[@adventurousx8220]

Her coach and husband. Ughhh. Did they understand she was a gifted and special girl????