The Ice Storm.

Shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 6, 1994, the day before she was to defend her U.S. figure skating title in Detroit, Michigan, Nancy Kerrigan was whacked above the knee with a metal baton by an unknown assailant. The attack, a single, savage blow from which Kerrigan suffered a bruised kneecap and quadriceps tendon, occurred after practice as she stopped to talk to a reporter. The perpetrators of the assault, an investigation revealed, were associates of Kerrigan's main American rival, Tonya Harding, who is still the only U.S. woman to have landed a triple axel (at the 1991 U.S. Nationals). Jeff Gillooly, Harding's former husband, and three others were later arrested, and Gillooly, who pleaded guilty to a charge of racketeering, told U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigators that Harding had been involved in the plot from the outset. Harding bombed in Lillehammer, failing to land a triple axel and finishing eighth. Kerrigan, fully recovered, skated almost flawlessly but had to settle for a silver medal. Oksana Baiul, the 16-year-old ingenue from Ukraine, won the gold in a 5-4 decision, with the judges split along East-West lines. Three weeks later Harding accepted a plea bargain for a Class C felony for hindering the prosecution and was sentenced to three years' probation. INSETS: TONYA HARDING;OKSANA BAIUL.