Sunday, December 16, 2007

SHAWN ECKARDT/BRIAN GRIFFITH: TONYA HARDING BODYGUARD DIES AT 40


Admitted Olympic Skater Nancy Kerrigan Attacker Brian Sean Griffith Dies at 40
Sunday, December 16, 2007
ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND, Ore. — Brian Sean Griffith, a former bodyguard to figure skater Tonya Harding who admitted a role in the attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan during Olympics tryouts, has died. He was 40.

Griffith died Wednesday of what his doctor reported as natural causes, according to the Washington County medical examiner's office. The specific cause of death is expected to be listed when the doctor files a death certificate, which could take two weeks, the medical examiner's office said.

Formerly Shawn Eckardt, Griffith had changed his name since the attack in an attempt to put it behind him.

Griffith, of Beaverton, was Harding's bodyguard when the Portland-born skater competed for a spot on the U.S. Olympic figure skating team in 1994.

That January, an assailant clubbed Kerrigan in the knee, forcing her out of the competition. The International Committee of the U.S. Figure Skating Association granted Kerrigan a spot anyway, and she recovered in time to win a silver medal at the Olympics.
READ STUNNING UPDATE...

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