The World Competes

The 1994 Lillehammer Olympics seemed to sneak up on me… this was the only time in Olympic history that two Olympics (of the same season) were only two years apart. The Albertville Olympics happened just two years prior.

Probably the most memorable event of the 1994 Olympics, for many, was the attack on Nancy Kerrigan, just prior to the Olympic games. It later was discovered that Tonya Harding’s bodyguard was the man involved, in an attempt to take Kerrigan out of competition. It didn’t work, and Kerrigan went on to win the silver. Harding, on the other hand, not only didn’t win a medal (she came in eighth), she seemed to turn to the scandalous after that. Harding became better known for sex tapes and celebrity boxing than skating well.

Lillehammer was also the year that Dan Jansen took his victory lap with his daughter, Jane, now made famous by those Visa commercials. He won the 1000 meter speed skating event this year, two Olympics after getting the bad news during the 1988 Olympics that his sister had died the morning of the competition.

Most of the 1994 competitors have long since retired, but a few are still hanging around. Luge’s Armin Zöggeler won the bronze medal for Italy, and Mark Grimmette, the flagbearer for the US Olympic team this year, were part of the Lillehammer games.