Kerrigan’s brother arrested after death of father

Sixteen years after she was at the centre of one of the most notorious cases of sabotage in sporting history, former Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan faces more heartache after her brother was arrested over the death of their father.
 
Kerrigan's father Daniel, who had dedicated himself to her career when she was younger and took out a second mortgage to pay for her skating lessons, died at the weekend after what appears to be a fight at the family's home in the Boston suburb of Stoneham.
 
He was found collapsed in the kitchen and police later arrested Nancy Kerrigan's brother, 45-year-old Mark. He was discovered in the basement of the house and officers said he seemed to be intoxicated and was "belligerent and combative".
 
Mark, who is described as an unemployed plumber and had been living at the property, denied a charge of assaulting his father and has been sent for psychological tests. It is reported that he could face more serious charges after an autopsy on his father.
 
The tragedy comes on the eve of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where figure skating will once again come into the spotlight. The sport is still tainted by the events of 16 years ago when Kerrigan's bid for Olympic glory was derailed by an attack aimed at helping her rival Tonya Harding.
 
Kerrigan (pictured above at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics) was clubbed on the right knee with an iron bar by an assailant after a training session at the 1994 US Championships. The attack came just weeks before the Winter Olympics at Lillehammer and appeared to have ended the skater’s chances of competing. It was her father who was filmed carrying a sobbing Kerrigan to the locker room after the attack.
 
It later emerged that the assault had been planned by the ex-husband of her rival Tonya Harding, who won the event and qualified for the Olympics.
 
But Kerrigan made an astonishing recovery and was selected to represent the US at Lillehammer where she won silver. Harding finished down in eighth place and was later banned for life when it was revealed that she had knowledge of the attack.

Despite the events of 1994, Harding, who has always protested her innocence, was one of the first to send her condolences to Kerrigan. "Tonya feels very sad for Nancy and her family and extends her deepest sympathy and condolences to them," said a spokesman for the disgraced skater.
 
The Kerrigan family described Daniel as a "wonderful husband" and "a caring and loving father," but made no mention of the charge against Mark. ·