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Shawn Eric Eckardt, the bodyguard of figure skater Tonya Harding who helped to plan the attack on her rival, Nancy Kerrigan, just before the U.S. Olympic figure skating championships, has died at the age of 40.

Eckardt, who later changed his name to Brian Sean Griffith in an attempt to distance himself from the Harding-Kerrigan controversy, died of what has been termed natural causes.

The attack created international headlines even before Eckardt confessed that he and Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly had planned to injure Kerrigan to give Harding a better chance of making the U.S Olympic team. Eckardt, Gillooly and Harding were all convicted of crimes related to the attack on Kerrigan, as were Shane Stant, who hit Kerrigan, and Derrick Smith, who drove the getaway car.

Eckardt ultimately served a little over a year in prison for his role in the attack.