Interview: 'I Know The People Who Love Me'

Surrounded by lawyers, freshly made up and clearly weary of the media spiral, Tonya Harding sat for an interview last week with NEWSWEEK'S Patricia King. They discussed her medal hopes, training and the pressure of the scandal. Excerpts:

You've said you know you're going to get a gold medal. Are you that confident or are you just psyching yourself up?
I don't know that I'm going to win a gold medal. I think any medal at this time would be great . . . if I get a silver or a bronze medal that'll mean that I didn't train hard enough.

Do you feel you have to hit a triple axel to win?
Well, I'm going to land a triple axel. That'll put the icing on it.

Are you worried about the judges? Do you think you're going to get a fair shake?
I'm not in a position to answer that. They're judges, and they have their own opinions.

When you skate, is it an inward performance or do you get energy from the crowd?
Well, when I get on the ice I tend to tree it, which means that I leave my problems behind before I go on the ice.

Tree it?
It's called treeing. It means you touch something and you leave your problems right there and you can pick them up when you go off.