At the 1991 US Figure Skating Championships, Tonya Harding became the first American woman to ever land a triple Axel in a competition. She came from nothing and made history. Had her career stopped right then and there, it would have been one of the happiest sports stories you could imagine. Unfortunately, her achievements were later overshadowed by scandal. Tune into this episode for the first part of her story.  

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Sources and further reading: 

Tonya Harding - 1985 U.S. Olympic Festival, Figure Skating, Ladies’ Short Program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXiHaW4c8Is&ab_channel=3Axel1996

Tonya Harding (USA) - 1986 Skate America, Ladies’ Long Program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJuZuqr8nXQ&ab_channel=3Axel1996 

Tonya Harding 1988-1989 Long Program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEeobjVVJsw&ab_channel=SkateHistorian 

Tonya Harding - 1991 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Ladies’ Free Skate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIGoWGjetog&ab_channel=TripleAxel1991 

Tonya Harding (USA) - 1991 Skate America, Ladies’ Original Program (First 3A-2T Ever Completed): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgBpDDjZAx8&ab_channel=3Axel1996 

Tonya Harding finishes in fourth place at 1992 Olympics, behind Nancy Kerrigan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luEZ9lkEgEU&ab_channel=ABCNews 

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