There’s no doubt that a little bit of needle, a touch of controversy and a smattering of personal dislike is a welcome tonic within the sporting world.

Few sporting contests or rivalries have been diminished by the addition of one, two or, ideally, all three.

Except on those rare occasions when it goes too far.

And never has there been an example of a personal rivalry going too far than in the case of the American duo, Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding.

Figure skating has never been the most mainstream of sports but even people who’ve failed to watch a second of the action know about this most remarkable scandal.

And three decades on, the “incident” the pair was involved in remains one of the most shocking in sporting history.

Kerrigan and Harding were fierce rivals on the ice, and were polar opposites in every way.

While Kerrigan was portrayed as the all-American Disney princess, Harding was seen as someone who was much more unrefined having grown–up with almost no money and an allegedly abusive mother. Harding’s coach once said she saw skating as "her ticket out of the gutter".

Vera Wang made Kerrigan’s skating outfits, whereas Harding was forced to make her own as she couldn’t afford professionally-made ones.

Tonya Harding was ultimately banned from skating for life

And on the ice, Kerrigan was smooth, effortless and graceful while Harding was a powerhouse of an athlete, most famously becoming the first-ever female........

© Herald Scotland