‘When you find out you know some of the people on the plane, it’s an even bigger blow.’
Russian pairs figure skaters Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, shown in their their free program routine on the way to the 1994 world pairs title, were among those in the figure skating community aboard a Washington plane that crashed without survivors, The Skating Club of Boston said
Yoshikazu TSUNO / AFP/File
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Global figure skating’s tight-knit community was in mourning on Thursday after a passenger jet crash in Washington killed two former world champion coaches and young stars from the next generation of top US talent.
Former Russian world pairs champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov and as many as 14 young American skaters perished when a plane collided midair with a US Army helicopter on Wednesday night above the US capital.
American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, plunged into the Potomac River, with President Donald Trump announcing Thursday there were no survivors.
Among those grief-stricken was Nancy Kerrigan, a former US women’s champion and two-time Olympic and world medalist based in Boston, where the World Figure Skating Championships will be held in March.
“Not sure how to process it,” she said, breaking down in tears.
“When you find out you know some of the people on the plane, it’s an even bigger blow.”
Reigning world and US men’s champion Ilia Malinin called it a “loss beyond words.”
“It’s just so heartbreaking,” Malinin said.
“It’s still hard to process. It’s emotional for me and all the figure skating community.”
“All of us are really devastated. We’re so sad... It’s really hard to wrap our minds around it.”
Doug Zeghibe, chief executive of The Skating Club of Boston, confirmed six club members were on the plane, including 1994 world pairs champions Shishkova and Naumov.
“To the best of our knowledge, 14 skaters are returning home... were lost in the plane crash,” Zeghibe said.
The passengers were returning from US Figure Skating’s national development camp, conducted in Wichita following last week’s US championships there.
“This camp is for young competitive stars of tomorrow with the most promise to be a champion of tomorrow,” Zeghibe said.
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