The U.S. figure skating community is in mourning following one of the most devastating tragedies in its history.
The crash of American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday evening over Washington, D.C., claimed the lives of 67 people, including over a dozen figure skaters and coaches returning from the U.S. National Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed that “several members” of the skating community were on board the flight, which had taken off from Wichita and crashed near Reagan National Airport just before 9 p.m. “These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita,” the organization stated.
Among the victims were Russian nationals Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, 1994 World Pair Champions, who, after retiring from competitive skating, transitioned to coaching and joined the Skating Club of Boston in 2017.
Doug Zeghibe, CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, described the loss of the two coaches as “immeasurable.” “Their impact was profound, and the void they leave behind will be impossible to fill,” Zeghibe said.
In addition to the Russian coaches, six other members of the Skating Club of Boston were aboard, including two promising young athletes and two mothers who had accompanied their children through their skating journeys.
“I was there on Sunday at a coaching workshop, which was the first day of U.S. figure skating development camp as they were coming into their two days of training,” Brenner said. “Huge excitement in the arena and lobby of all these families.”
Wichita’s mayor, Lily Wu, expressed her condolences to the victims’ families.”Our hearts are heavy as a city,” Wu said. “Our hearts are heavy as a city council, and we are here to provide the support needed for our community.”
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov also offered his condolences to the victims’ families, calling the incident “terrible news that has left us speechless.”
