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TODAY IN HISTORY: The painful deal Olympian had to make to stay out of jail

Nick Pearson
Nick Pearson

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Figure skater Tonya Harding pleaded guilty on March 16, 1994, over her involvement in an attack on archrival Nancy Kerrigan.

Harding admitted to conspiracy to hinder prosecution, after negotiating a plea bargain that would keep her out of prison.

But the plea bargain came with a painful punishment for Harding.

The Olympian was banned from competitive skating.

Attribution: Getty
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Two months earlier, Kerrigan was attacked after a practice session.

Iconic footage showed Kerrigan clutching her knee and screaming, 'Why, why?'

Kerrigan's knee was injured when a man struck her knee with a telescopic baton.

Kerrigan and Harding were both selected for the Winter Olympics.

Attribution: Supplied
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Kerrigan won the silver medal at the Olympics in February that year.

Harding did not win a medal.

Attribution: Getty
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Ninety per cent of the German city of Wurzburg was destroyed in a 20-minute period on March 16, 1945.

Royal Air Force bombers targeted the city with incendiary bombs, creating a massive firestorm that consumed the city.

An estimated 5000 people were killed in the bombing.

Attribution: Public Domain
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Wurzburg would be painstakingly reconstructed by the citizens after the end of the war.

The city would surrender to the advancing Allied forces less than a month later.

Attribution: Public Domain
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