DETROIT -- Nancy Kerrigan returns to the Boston area today, determined to continue a gradual physical and emotional recovery from a traumatic week.
As Detroit police sift through evidence and review computer-enhanced video freeze frames in an effort to find the man who attacked her Thursday, Kerrigan will try to forget the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and fix her sights on next month's Winter Olympics.
The 1992 Olympic bronze medalist was named to the U.S. team along with new national champion Tonya Harding Saturday after the women's final.
"I don't think I was surprised (to be named), because of my past record," Kerrigan told reporters just after midnight Sunday. "I'm just glad it didn't take any longer."
Kerrigan received a deep bruise above her right kneecap after her unidentified attacker dealt a quick, seemingly deliberate blow with a stick or rod after a practice last week. A magnetic resonance imaging test will be performed today so doctors can verify there is no other damage.
The skater's recovery will be monitored by the U.S. Figure Skating Association, which plans to send a three-member review team to Kerrigan's rink after she can return to the ice. In cooperation with USFSA physician Mahlon Bradley, who is Boston-based, that panel is expected to rule on Kerrigan's progress by Feb. 6.
"It should be definitive (by Feb. 6)," said Jim Disbrow, chairman of the USFSA's international committee, which named Kerrigan to the team. "The key is to give Nancy enough time to get ready, to be an Olympian."
Kerrigan said medical officials "were surprised by how much stronger (the knee) was already."
Although Kerrigan savors privacy, she's had little of it since the incident that changed her life forever.
"If people didn't know me before, they do now," she said.
After watching Saturday's competition from a guarded skybox at Joe Louis Arena, Kerrigan submitted a sample for drug testing, which is required of every skater named to the Olympic team. Later, with companion Mike Collins at her side, Kerrigan briefly visited a farewell party for the more than 300 novice-, junior- and senior-level competitors who participated in this year's nationals. Her stride appeared normal as she walked through the ballroom.
Sunday brought more therapy, attendance at an Olympic team meeting and time with family, including mother Brenda, father Dan and two brothers.
Although the decision to name Kerrigan to the Olympic team means second-place finisher Michelle Kwan is an alternate instead of a qualifier, her coach, Frank Carroll, said the USFSA acted properly.
Other skaters and coaches agreed. "Nancy Kerrigan, because of some crazed maniac, should not be discarded," Carroll said. "It would play into his hands. I think she would have won this competition anyway."
The Olympic team: Men: Scott Davis, 21, Great Falls, Mont., Brian Boitano, 30, San Francisco; Women: Tonya Harding, 23, Portland, Ore., Nancy Kerrigan, 24, Stoneham, Mass.(*); Pairs: Jenni Meno, 23, Westlake, Ohio, and Todd Sand, 30, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Kyoko Ina, 21, Guttenberg, N.J. and Jason Dungjen, 26, Troy, Mich.; Karen Courtland, 23, Whippany, N.J., and Todd Reynolds, 27, Houston; Dance: Elizabeth Punsalan, 23, Pontiac, Mich., and Jerod Swallow, 27, Pontiac, Mich. *Pending rehabilitation of injured right knee; Michelle Kwan, 13, Torrance, Calif., is the first alternate and would replace Kerrigan if she must withdraw.
