Tonya Harding: podcast appearances and interviews

Tonya Maxene Price, known professionally as Tonya Harding, is an American former figure skater, boxer, and reality television personality. Born in Portland, Oregon, she was introduced to ice skating at the age of three by her mother, who enrolled her in lessons. Harding dedicated much of her early life to training in figure skating, eventually dropping out of high school to focus entirely on her athletic pursuits. She competed in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships between 1986 and 1989 and won the 1989 Skate America competition. Harding was the U.S. champion in 1991 and 1994, although her 1994 title was later vacated. She achieved notable success by becoming the first American woman and the second woman in history to land a triple Axel in an international competition, accomplishing this feat in 1991. Harding represented the United States in two Olympic Games and was a two-time Skate America Champion. Her career was marred by controversy in 1994 when her ex-husband orchestrated an attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan. Harding pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution, leading to her lifetime ban from the United States Figure Skating Association and the stripping of her 1994 title. Beyond skating, she competed as a professional boxer from 2003 to 2004. Harding's life and career have been the subject of books, films, documentaries, and academic studies, including the 2017 film I, Tonya. She appeared as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in 2018, finishing third, and won season 16 of Worst Cooks in America in 2019.