Assault of Nancy Kerrigan

On January 6, 1994, Nancy Kerrigan, an American figure skater, was struck on the lower right thigh with a baton by assailant Shane Stant as she walked down a corridor in Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Kerrigan had been practicing skating on an ice rink in the arena shortly beforehand. The attack happened at around 14:35 (2:35 PM) Eastern Standard Time.

The attack was planned by Jeff Gillooly, the ex-husband of fellow American figure skater Tonya Harding, and his co-conspirator Shawn Eckardt; they both admitted guilt to police and were convicted. They hired Stant and his uncle Derrick Smith to carry out the attack. Gillooly and Eckardt both claimed that Harding was involved in the attack and had knowledge of it beforehand. Harding initially denied all knowledge of the attack, but soon accepted a plea agreement admitting to helping cover up the attack after the fact. Later, both a grand jury and a disciplinary panel from the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) found further evidence of Harding's involvement during the planning and execution phases. Despite this, Harding has always denied involvement and was not convicted of any crime in connection with this incident.

The attack was intended to prevent Kerrigan from taking part in the ongoing 1994 United States Figure Skating Championships and the forthcoming Winter Olympics, thus increasing the prospects of Harding in both figure skating events. Kerrigan could not compete in the US Championship but recovered in time to compete in the Winter Olympics. Both women competed in the 1994 Olympics; Harding was banned for life from USFSA figure skating events as a result of the attack later that year. The incident and its aftermath were covered extensively by national and some international media. The attack also had an effect on American popular culture (such as the 2017 film I, Tonya, which is centered on the attack).