NORWOOD, Mass. (AP) — On Wednesday night, an American Airlines jet collided with an Army helicopter and fell into the icy waters of the Potomac River, killing 14 members of the skating community, including two adolescent figure skaters, their mothers, and two world champion instructors from Boston.
In addition to 1994 pairs world champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane were also slain, according to a statement released Thursday by Doug Zeghibe, CEO of the Skating Club of Boston. According to Zeghibe, 14 of the fatalities were returning from a national development program for young skaters who showed promise after the U.S. Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
The group of skaters is incredibly close-knit. These children and their parents spend six or even seven days a week at our facility in Norwood. Zeghibe stated, “It’s a close, tight bond.” The effects on our skate community will be long-lasting.
The presence of Shishkova and Naumov on board was also confirmed by the Kremlin. Maxim, a 23-year-old son of theirs and a former U.S. junior champion who has placed fourth in senior nationals the last three years, just missed the podium on Sunday at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, where his parents were in attendance.
On Monday, Maxim Naumov took a plane home. In a conference held inside the rink approximately thirty minutes south of Boston, Zeghibe stated that he had no reason to remain at the national development camp.
During his competition, he was accompanied by both of his parents. The club administrator paused to control his emotions and remarked, “His well-known Mom was always too nervous to watch him skate.” However, he was accompanied by his father, who shared his outstanding performance in a kiss-and-cry.
Following Wednesday night’s accident in Washington, it is believed that three troops on a training trip in the Blackhawk helicopter and sixty passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines aircraft are dead.While officials claimed flying conditions were fine and the plane from Wichita was conducting a routine landing when the helicopter came into its path, no obvious cause was found.
According to Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly, authorities don’t think anyone made it out alive.
According to a statement from U.S. Figure Skating, “We are devastated to hear that figure skaters, as well as their families, friends, and coaches, are believed to be among those on board.” All those impacted by this tragedy are in our thoughts.
We stand together as a close-knit family, and figure skating is more than just a sport.
The Skating Club of Boston, regarded as one of the most prominent clubs in the world, produced numerous U.S. champions, Olympic and world champions Dick Button and Tenley Albright, as well as Olympic medalists Nancy Kerrigan and Paul Wylie.
Misha Mitrofanov and Alisa Efimova, who took home the pairs title the previous week, were among them. Among the 18 skaters the club sent to Wichita was Jimmy Ma, who placed fifth at Sunday’s U.S. championships.
With thousands of TikTok followers, Spencer Lane, a sectionals winner, has gained popularity among the skating community on social media. He concluded the development camp by posting a video of himself performing a triple toe loop on Wednesday.
Being accepted to the National Development Camp earlier in November makes me very delighted. Almost since I realized it existed, it has been my objective. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Lane wrote, “I met so many amazing people and learned so much new information that I can apply to my everyday life.”
Later, he shared a picture of himself on board the aircraft right before it took off from Wichita.
World champion Ilia Malinin, who won his third consecutive national gold in Wichita, expressed his sadness over the loss of his fellow skaters in this terrible catastrophe. This loss is unfathomable since the figure skating community is like a family.
After immigrating to the United States, Naumov and Shishkova took coaching positions, initially at the International Skating Center of Connecticut and, since 2017, at the Boston club that has been a training ground for elite skaters since 1912.
The catastrophe served as a chilling reminder to the Boston club of an aircraft crash in 1961 that killed the entire U.S. delegation while they were traveling to Prague for the world championships. In observance of the American team who perished in the collision, the global championships were canceled that year.
According to Zeghibe, about half of the passengers on that aircraft were members of this club. Because losing coaches like this also means losing the sport’s future, it has far-reaching effects on the skating club and the sport in this nation. It has taken a while to rebuild it, and in my opinion, this club has just recently—nearly 60 years later—been able to move past the aftermath of that 1961 collision.
Tallinn, Estonia, is hosting the European championships this week. They were supposed to go on as planned.
The sad accident involving an American Airlines flight in Washington, D.C., has horrified the International Skating Union and the skating community worldwide. The ISU said in a statement, “We are devastated to hear that figure skaters, as well as their families, friends, and coaches, are believed to be among those on board.” We continue to communicate closely with U.S. Figure Skating and extend our unwavering support throughout this extremely trying period.
According to Zeghibe, the club is moving forward with its preparations to hold worlds at the TD Garden from March 25–30. There were banners advertising the event and a table supporting the contingent in Wichita in the club’s new facility’s foyer.
By late morning, flowers were starting to arrive at the front counter. A Zamboni cleared the ice at the practice rink while a girl warmed up.
In addition to wanting to skate, skaters are resilient. According to Zeghibe, I believe that they too visit the club and will continue to do so as a way to unite and grieve together. We can’t take a break since we’re too busy. We must continue to move.