Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 26, 1994 TAG: 9402260126
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HAMAR, NORWAY LENGTH: Long
The Olympic gold medal went not to Nancy Kerrigan, not to Tonya Harding, but to Ukraine's 16-year-old orphan Oksana Baiul, so sore from a practice collision Norwegians find gold in their hills. C1 Harding's nightmare continues.C1 More Olympics coverage. C3 that she needed two injections for the pain and it wasn't certain until just hours before that she would compete.
Kerrigan, who missed the U.S. nationals when she was clubbed by a man hired by Harding's ex-husband, added the silver medal to the bronze she won two years ago.
And Harding, still under investigation back home in the Kerrigan assault, finished eighth after breaking a lace on her right boot in her warmup. They got another lace, but it was too small. She pulled up shortly into her program and persuaded the judges to give her time to change laces.
Even the medals ceremony didn't escape the melodrama that has enveloped this sport since Kerrigan was clubbed Jan. 6. It was held up a few minutes because no one could find a recording of Baiul's newly independent nation's national anthem. It was Ukraine's first gold medal.
Baiul, the world champion, skated with three stitches in her right shin and a sore back after a crash in practice Thursday.
She went on immediately after Kerrigan and, in one of the closest finishes in Olympic history, stole the medal from her with a lively routine set to Broadway show tunes. Kerrigan had led after Wednesday's technical program, with Baiul second.
"The hard life I've had up to now gives me strength to compete," said Baiul, whose mother died two years ago and who never knew her father.
Baiul was ranked first with five judges. Four judges gave first place to Kerrigan.
"I could not think about the gold after my performance," Baiul said. "I never do because my goal is to do well and give joy to the spectators. Tonight, when I was through, judging by the applause, I thought I had done well."
China's Chen Lu won the bronze.
The difference for Baiul was her artistry, even though Kerrigan clearly had the support of the flag-waving crowd.
"I think I skated great," Kerrigan said. "I was smiling, I was happy, I was enjoying myself. I mean, how can I complain?
"I decided not to play any mind games with myself, or question myself, because I knew I was capable of this," Kerrigan said. "And I proved that to myself."
But she couldn't beat Baiul, because the German judge gave Baiul the tie-breaking edge in artistic impression. Baiul burst into tears as she saw the scores posted, but apparently had no idea she won. She looked overcome as she was helped to the dressing room by her coach.
"This is a big shock to her," said coach Galina Zmievskaya, pointing to Baiul's back, which was sore from the collision. Zmievskaya took Baiul into her home after the skater's mother died.
"What's our place?" Baiul asked.
First place, which Kerrigan did not dispute.
"I don't think it takes away from what I planned to do and did out there," Kerrigan said. "I knew I was capable of doing just what I did."
Baiul's win gave the former Soviet Union a sweep of the figure skating gold medals. Kerrigan's silver was the only U.S. medal in the sport this year, while Chen's bronze was China's first Olympic figure-skating medal.
While Kerrigan had plenty of time to recover from her injuries, Baiul had just a day. She crashed into Germany's Tanja Szewczenko while both were skating backward at near full speed. Baiul spiked herself and also wrenched her back. She got through her final practice routine Friday morning, but left halfway into the session.
A few hours later, she found the fortitude Harding will need in the coming weeks.
Harding still must face a U.S. Figure Skating Association disciplinary hearing and a grand jury investigation involving the attack on Kerrigan. Harding's ex-husband admitted to planning the assault and implicated her in the plot.
As bad as things finished in the technical program - Harding was 10th - they started even worse in the free skate.
Harding appeared for her program only 6 seconds before she could have been disqualified, taking a hit from her inhaler before getting on the ice. She popped her opening jump, a triple lutz, then stopped skating 45 seconds into the routine. Crying, she went directly to the referee.
Lifting her right leg, Harding showed him a broken shoelace and her performance was postponed nearly a half-hour.
"I knew that if I was going to skate like that it was going to be very risky," she said. "I could break my ankle really easily."
When Harding reappeared - to a smattering of boos - after three other skaters finished, she was almost flawless. She popped her triple axel into a single, but otherwise skated cleanly. Harding clearly tired at the end, but her marks were good enough for eighth.
"I think I did quite well under all the circumstances," she said, "because I think I was ready to have a nervous breakdown before I went out the first time."
Chen moved up from fourth to third with a terrific program that included six triple jumps.
Katarina Witt, the 1984 and '88 Olympic champion, was seventh.
by CNB