Tonya Harding (USA) - 1986 Skate America, Ladies' Long Program

Portland, Maine, USA - 1986 Skate America, Ladies' Long Program - Tonya Harding of the Untied States won the Long Program and ended up winning the Silver Medal.

[@dalelackey226]

I really hated what happened to this girl. She was probably the most powerful woman skater we've ever had in this country. She was just unlucky enough to be surrounded by the wrong people.

[@evamarek5205]

Very true.

[@humanbeing2420]

She was complicit in the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. The evidence is clear on that.

[@isabelbarroso3381]

Very true. She was blamed for the attack and injury of Nancy when it was her mother and husband who were behind it all. I believe that she had no knowledge of it all.

[@debrakateri2979]

15 years old ! Love this program . People talk about her being a jumper but look at her flow ! She has artistry !

[@valmacclinchy]

Absolutely, she definitely has artistry .. Her spins were always gorgeous. And I especially love her Olympic Exhibition in Albertville 1992 performance, where she skates to Moon River. She's wearing the black and gold costume. Her Ina Bauer position at the end, she holds it halfway around the rink!

[@kimberlybellefontaine1215]

She makes those jumps look so darned deceivingly simple. Don’t know how she does it. She was definitely a pioneer in women’s skating. I’d forgotten what a GREAT skater she really was. Wow....just wow.

[@danielkristianson208]

Tonya was quite possibly the most gifted skater the US has ever produced. The biggest mistake of her life was connecting with Jeff Gilooly. Had she been raised in a more functional family, no one could have matched her as a skater, and she would never have been banned. A success story and a tragedy all in one.

[@dmklmmr]

This is the best that I’ve seen Tonya skate. So talented.

[@douglasstewart558]

Gracious sakes! She knocks your socks off! And has for decades now...this is beyond talent...the polish, the passion...never to be equalled. You opened eyes from the get go on the national and world stage.

[@jenna5532]

I like the artistry in this better than in her later programs

[@adam631]

Jesus H Christ, only 15?!?! This is absolutely incredible!!! Amazing gifted athlete.

[@careohline]

she ate that performance up i just watched the movie so that’s why i am here

[@maric.3977]

this has to be the best skating performance Ive ever seen

[@silverbushb448]

I cant wrap my head around the physics of ice skating, and how it's scientifically possible to perform these impossible looking feats !

[@godwins5357]

She seems more graceful here then when she was younger always Wonderful but different ?

[@yesse715]

woah, she was amazing and was younger than me

[@YOGI-yl4ff]

I wish Ms. Harding had more faith in herself back in the 1990's. She is truly amazing. Las Vegas, NV September 28, 2021

[@anthonycicerale1376]

It's nice to see footage from when she was early in her skating career, cause she was so talented! That husband of hers ruined everything for her.

[@columban1869]

Nancy K can’t do what Tonya can! Love Tonya!

[@goeticfolklore]

They are both very talented, no need to compare.

[@columban1869]

@@goeticfolklore sure😂

[@vanessalopezvelez8991]

Amazing! Amazing most differently A pioneer in women's skating! inspirational !

[@Wendy-tc5wx]

Just HEAVENLY she is a true warrior

[@isabelbarroso3381]

Yes she was. She had to do it all on her own and work her self up to the top facing the difficulty of not coming from a wealthy background. Let's keep in mind that skating is an expensive sport.

[@flightoflightning2505]

Look at this program! In 1986! She was doing triple lutzes before most top skaters even got their triple flip.

[@marlenerb849]

Tanya Harding made me want to be a figure skater growing up. She was so exciting in her performances. She brought life to the sport. Best figure skater I ever saw in my life! Hands down

[@vintagebleachedblonde4322]

I absolutely love Tonya Harding

[@longbranch11207]

Damn she was amazing

[@BBchege]

Her skating made me cry. It's more than beautiful and talented. I love her skating and her life too. 💕

[@jaguarcesar]

THE BEST OF THE BEST! I LOVE TONYA HARDING!!!

[@brooklynlatinovelez8674]

Wow amazing

[@maric.3977]

that was amazing

[@jennifermassengill1635]

She's the queen

[@ChristieAdamsKangoo]

Just...amazing. If only she'd had someone, anyone looking out for her. Yes, she made a ton of bad choices, but if she'd had just one adult, one shred of financial help, things could have been so much different.

[@screamingmimi90]

She was way ahead of her time.

[@Rose0004]

She murdered that from start to finish, even with that slightly failed jump toward the end. My favorite part was when she turned into a mini tornado at the finale. What a sight!

[@lisatraveloften3706]

Wow that was amazing at such a young age. She was so talented!

[@pakheradmand9466]

I fell in love with skating after watching videos of her and her life

[@ruthslotwinski8934]

Just beautiful!!

[@marykelly1723]

Tonya is a true athlete& she's so beautiful while doing it.

[@mitchelrichardson8164]

I have been texting Tonya a message on 23/11/2021 and she replied to me a week later on 29th November at exactly 0:43am with a big surprise on my face. it was such a great pleasure to get a messaged back from Tonya. =) I am now a fan of her. she is 51 years old now.

[@IndigoBellyDance]

She really was Amazing. Too bad the judges refused to give her the points she deserved. And too bad she came from a abusive home.

[@jamesb7241]

Tonya is the best !!!

[@wendystanton1856]

Such a beautiful skate

[@Itstonytime77]

This program would have won the long program at worlds that year if she’s qualified!

[@harrietlyall1991]

Amazing Tonya! What a skater! ❤

[@merce10554]

What a pity. At least we have these uploads of her capabilities.

[@aken1777]

Skating like that (and with a triple flip) she should have won everything at that time. Just fabulous !

[@user-qe9qp9lz4s]

伊藤みどりさんを彷彿とさせる選手でした。本当に才能があってジャンプ以外でも良いところもある選手でした。 もっと落ち着いた環境で練習が出来ていたらと思うと残念です。

[@georgerobbins3]

Incredible posture! 😍

[@robb6823]

We ♥️ you Tonya!!

[@luskapani9905]

Skating to „Ave Maria”, what a legend. Stunning performance. Why didn’t they comment the tripple jump combination, it was great!

[@Person-mh6xq]

Because the triple jump combo was followed by a double. Not worth the extra comment unless it's a triple/triple. Tanya really was fantastic here though!

[@holyspark5438]

Stunning!! Such a shame her skating magic was overshadowed by other things.

[@seanmc7128]

Back in a more civilized world. I miss those days.

[@crispyorsmthnidk5314]

“Someone to watch in the future for sure”

[@ZinziSchneider]

one of the best us skaters of all time, so sad, what they did to her

[@hunkydory8500]

Wow! That was really a great performance. I'm surprised because her later performances didn't compare to this one. I guess she peaked at 15.

[@baritonebynight]

I guess you missed her 1991 performances where she lands huge triple axels that many male skaters struggled with.

[@hunkydory8500]

@@baritonebynight wrong, I saw it. Tonya lacked artistry & grace. It's amazing that at 15, she actually had that spirit, which in my opinion, is far more impressive. But Tonya gave us some laughs, like when she kicked her foot & skate up on the referee stand to complain about skate malfunction! I guess that's why she made such a good WWW performer!

[@jemimahkendall6579]

Every video I've watched, the commentators absolutely love her, why happened to this girl for it all to go so wrong

[@misslibbybelle]

She was a better skater than Kerrigan.

[@dagmarzoepke6960]

I love her more than Nancy . She was the best for me .

[@sbrecke1507]

Wow, when she did that lean

[@jja8750]

Who were the commentators? I love how much they appreciate her jumps, skills and artistry :)

[@MarioSilva-sv8wx]

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹❤❤❤❤

[@danieladipietro6341]

I have know Tonya story by the movie. She' fantastic and outsider, sure the best figure skater in a sport of "ladies &gentlemen...." Tonya Is a ring worm, a quenching"... When in the movie said: "genetic- demographic conviction"... I know too.. some sport are only for Rich people. No more skater? And she boxer... Great Tonya!!!! A big Kiss from Genoa, Italy

[@kelsey1406]

Who told her he wasn’t beautiful or that she wasn’t graceful? I just want to talk.

[@twolak1972]

Pound for pound THE BEST WOMENS SKATER EVER. She had no chinks in her armor ,Tonya had it all. Poor off ice choices kept her from being what she could have been.

[@CB-uq6mx]

Watching this now and only understanding the rules in the current era of skating, it's so strange to see her do so many combination jumps (five in total - 3Lo+2T, 2F+2T+2Lo, 2A+2T, 3S+2T, 1F+2T) and adding so many double toes (five in total) to the end of them.

[@Calicokit101]

15?! She looks 50!

[@stevenvalencia6353]

If they hadn't said it was tanya harding .i Kinda feel like i was watching liz manely lol

[@ElainePuma]

Look at how mature she spins and her show: *Thanks that's the trauma*

[@2trntbls469]

Holy crap. She was 15?!? She looked like she was on fast-forward mode at the end. I don't know how a person can function after turning into a tornado.

[@pedropelaez]

She skated in the wrong era. If she was skating now, she would have much better results because the subjectivity (she isn’t “ballerina enough”) would have not been as great.

[@MrNRMurray]

I am here because of “I, Tonya”

[@kandikaye4405]

I have always been a fan of figure skating gbut neverEVER a fan of Tonya. Until recently as ikearn she was the1st American women to land a 3a. Shame on me

[@mud6866]

She looks great with that hairstyle!

[@isabelbarroso3381]

Tonya was a strong and powerful skater. She had an abusive and alcoholic mother, married young to the wrong man just to get away from her mother. The only support and good advisor she had was her coach. She didn't come from a wealthy background meaning that she could not afford the best, had to make her own costumes, had no sponsors. She was on her own. All she had was her talent that was taken away by something that I don't think she had knowledge of. The attack and injury of Nancy was all orchestrated by her mother and then husband.

[@michaelpatrick7888]

could it be possible that she was bettr at 16?than 25?

[@stevenquest380]

I wish I Tonya came out many years ago to vindicate her as a person. She just seems like a tragic victim

[@canadianbeef1958]

Wow she was a lot better when she was younger. What happened to her?

[@0116scooter]

God she was so good!!!! It’s such a shame how it all went down for her. She was such a victim of her circumstances. Marrying a scum bag to get away from her mother. It just all spiraled after that.

[@thespiritmessage]

Sometimes I wonder why she didn't resurrect these old programs for her later ones. Jurassic Park is good music but it wasn't put together very well musically... Even though she didn't like skating to classical pieces, I thought she could flow a lot better than what she got credit for

[@jazxin8310]

tonya injustiçada

[@anthbig]

FLAMING HOT WOMAN/LEGS!!

[@therealJohnDawes]

Get rid of the pop up at the end FFS

[@kelsey1406]

It’s criminal that she didn’t get first.

[@waynehentley4332]

Too far back after school figures.

[@crystalprice1942]

These gloating commentators are too funny!

[@MAllanDavis1979]

That's 3xLutz was text book perfect. She had inpeccable technique... She also was probably already just beginning to grow up to an abusive mother, bad influences and unfortunately a really bad colorist. Sorry Tonya but what ever that 'blond in a bottle color' was... girl " computer says 'Nah."

[@jodi3700]

You do things a little differently and people just lose their minds. They gave her a life sentence. There are even tv shows about letting young people that commit crimes LIKE MURDER(!). They're taken out of jail and given a 2nd chance because they feel like these kids were young and they can change soooo...WTF...a lifetime seems really excessive in my humble opinion.

[@robertmcgregor9271]

0

[@46foryounger]

Wow! This was before all the drama. Too bad she got lost in the BS. She was phenomenal. Never saw this footage of her but you could really see just how gifted she was.

[@evamarek5205]

Agreed. She was Olympic gold medal standard for sure. It's a shame.

[@jamesb7241]

Tonya is the best!!!

[@jja8750]

What a great performance. I'm sure that back in 1986, those judges and the audience must've been wowed by the difficulty of her triples and how easy she executed them. Lovely artistry, too.

[@PV1230]

That final spin was so fast!

[@gisazurnieden9058]

Yes, she was so fast she was only a blur :)

[@raiannabortoni7360]

goosebumps all over

[@GerOffYeWeeBastard]

...until it was ruined by that ANNOYING popup!

[@nancyfenity1652]

So sad that Tonya never had the chance to grow into her potential. She was a skilled skater and needed to get away from all those destructive influences they brought her to the eventual end of her career in figure skating. She could have been so much more.

[@TressBraga]

That forward scratch spin at the end is the most beautiful Ive seen.

[@excalibur1812]

It was fabulous, but have a look at Dorothy Hamil's spin on this performance. I saw this when it was aired live on TV. Even though she couldn't technically compete with the triple jumps, her spin at 2:15 was incomparable. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaHdfYCulNhkjpo This was the actual program I was looking for. The end spin is even faster! kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZSyY6ynqdyVbtk

[@deeskers1]

She was outstanding! So much poise and grace and talent. Sorry that all of the mess happened later.

[@lisawood365]

She looks so grown up here as simply a child still attacking those spins as few women ever will.

[@tudorjason]

Watching this, you'd never think Tonya Harding had grown up any differently than most skaters at this time, from well-to-do families without physical or emotional abuse. But perhaps she was more determined to prove she could be just like the other women skaters at the time.

[@vikingsong2068]

Not all skaters were rich. Nancy Kerrigan's dad was a blue collar worker who worked two jobs to pay for her skating tuition. Her mother was a housewife. Lots of people have shitty families and parents whether rich or poor.

[@valmacclinchy]

@@vikingsong2068 Nancy's family was much better off than Tonya's, it's not even close. Tonya sewed her own costumes. Nancy had top designers like Vera Wang. Nancy had supportive and loving parents. Tonya had an abusive mother and an abusive boyfriend/husband. More importantly, Tonya was always the better skater. Every time she stepped on the ice, it was exciting. Her energy was incredible, not to mention her iconic triple axels (especially being the first US woman to land one in competition).

[@booboo-pe7le]

Such a beautiful performance, she's like liquid on ice!

[@marieantoinette8675]

One of her best performances that I’ve seen.

[@Taan123]

sensational ARTISTRY and athletism, tonya was the complete package, gorgeous skating.

[@hyakdelphi4481]

Seriously. The fact that she somehow didn't make the worlds team after skating like this at a Skate America makes me so glad they got rid of the compulsories. And what a shame she wasn't competing at Worlds at this point in her career, because this would have placed first with no question at all at that point in time.

[@ronbowman4437]

Ditto..those compulsory figures ruined many a skater's chances to be champions...like Midori Ito, she was skating circles around everyone else in the world from the mid 80's to early 90's..skaters like Katerina Witt benefited the most from the school figures because she was so good at them.. 2 Olympic Gold medals..with only triple salchows and triple toeloops...ugh!

[@danstafford5977]

Tonya Harding is so awesome she's a real crowd-pleaser!

[@Justhatipp]

I love this performance of hers she just looks so flawless! I feel like she seems more artistic and not just focusing on those big jumps! Raw talent

[@JaedroCruz]

Good grief the stretch and hold she has on that Inna Bauer at 2:35 is gorgeous and insane! 😳

[@freddiemercury4evr]

Absolutely breath-taking ❤

[@lisawood365]

She is something else when she was on fire!

[@genednomyar3383]

Wow! I have never seen this video before, and it's one of the best skates I ever saw Tonya have. It's interesting to me that she almost seemed more artistic, and better trained here, than in many of her performances in the 90s, although SOME of those performances were amazing as well (91 Nationals & 91 Skate America in particular). If she could have skated up to her potential at the right moments, there's no doubt she could have been a world champion, and had a couple Olympic medals as well. As it was, she ended up with a couple national championships (one that was taken away), a world silver medal, a fourth-place finish in the 92 Olympics, and a top ten placement in 94.

[@lauragray2621]

WOW!! That last spin 😮