The 30 For 30 series from ESPN picks up on Thursday with the presentation of "The Price of Gold" a film that details the controversy surrounding Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding and the attack that occurred ahead of the Winter Olympics in Norway 20 years ago and gripped the nation as it turned its attention towards the highly competitive world of figure skating and the film will be on ESPN on Thursday, January 16 starting up at 9 pm ET and streaming online from WatchESPN.
The documentary is directed by Nanette Burstein and the film will look at the situation involving Kerrigan and Harding after the attack on Kerrigan that left her with an injured knee, but it did not knock her out of the Olympics. The winter games were in Lillehammer that year and the attack came before the Olympics at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and the stunning attack came without provocation and was a huge shock to Kerrigan. The news had a field day with the stunning attack and eventually when it was discovered that Harding was connected to the assailant and it was found out it was her ex-husband, who hoped it would knock Kerrigan out of the Olympics.
Harding has denied knowledge of the attack or of its planning, but no one really believes that and at the Olympics, Kerrigan recovered and won a medal, while Harding did not. The film is going to look at the attack as well as the overall media coverage and surrounding issues about the incident along with it effect on the Olympics and the figure skating competition. The film features interviews with media members from that time who covered the story and it will run nearly two hours with commercials and is the 59th film in the series of 30 For 30 films.
The film has received praise from critics, including Variety.com, and it also details both athletes, including Harding and her tough upbringing, but as things unfold with Kerrigan, it's clear there are some issues. Kerrigan did not participate and is telling her side of things through NBC where she will be working the Olympics, while Harding can seem a bit shady and petty at times and it can easily be seen that she was jealous of her fellow competitor. The film airs on ESPN Thursday and streaming on the WatchESPN website.
