Kerrigan Toys With Media After First Norway Practice

Six women figure skaters were scheduled to practice at 11:35 a.m. Friday at the Olympic Amphitheatre. Two showed up.

So did 10 television camera crews, about 75 to 100 newspaper reporters from throughout the world, a smattering of fans and even some coaches and skaters who were not scheduled to practice then.

Who were they there to see?

Hint: It was not South Korea’s Lee Lily Lyoonjung.

Skating onto the ice to Tina Turner’s “The Best,” Nancy Kerrigan practiced for the first time since arriving in Norway on Thursday for her Winter Olympic competition, which will begin Feb. 23.

Performing her long program, she might not have been, as the lyrics say, “Simply the best, better than all the rest.” But she was pretty good, skating her entire four-minute freestyle program without interruption and perfectly landing five of six triple jumps she attempted.

As she left the rink through a tunnel afterward, reporters shouted questions at her from the bleachers.

The knee?

“You can’t answer that?” she said, playfully. “You didn’t think it looked OK? It feels wonderful.”

The practice?

“There were a couple of slips, but that’s the first practice,” she said. “That’s expected. I’m a little tired from the trip.”

The media attention?

“I prefer not to be followed wherever I go,” she said.

The impromptu news conference ended when a reporter asked for her response to Tonya Harding’s comment Wednesday that she would like to give Kerrigan a hug.

Kerrigan consulted momentarily with Kristin Matta, U.S. Figure Skating Assn. spokeswoman, turned back toward the reporters and said: “Bye.”