6 members of the Boston Skating Club among the killed in a DC plane accident

Norwood, Mass. (AP) – Two adolescent artistic skaters, their mothers and two former world champions who led a historic Boston club were one of the 14 members of the skating community killed when a Flight American Airlines He collided with an army helicopter on Wednesday evening and crashed into the icy waters of the Potomac river.

The CEO of the Boston skating club, Doug Zeghibe, said Thursday that the skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane were among the killed, as well as the world champions of Pairs 1994 Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naunov of Russia. In all, 14 of the victims returned from a national development camp for promising young skaters following the American championships in Wichita, Kansas, Zehibe said.

“We came here because we had to be together,” said Tenley Albright, Olympic champion of 1956, while he was standing in a ice rink outside Boston that bears his name. “We are family, and it’s a community and skaters – people who were on this plane – they are also our family.

“I certainly have no answer. I really can’t believe it happened, because I imagine them here, “said Albright, in tears. “It’s just terrible and it’s sad. And we just think we have to be together. And that’s why you see so many hugs today.

The Kremlin also confirmed that Shishkova and Naumov were on board. Among their students, their 23 -year -old son, Maxim, a former American junior champion who has finished fourth to senior nationals in the past three years, shortly missing the podium on Sunday while his parents watched Intest Bank Arena in Wichita.

Maxim Naumov returned home on Monday. “He had no reason to stay at the national development camp,” said Zeghibe.

“His two parents were with him while he was in competition. She is a well -known mother was always too nervous to watch him skate, ”said the club manager, stopping to contain his emotions. “But his father was with him, and Dad was in the” kiss-and rhythm “sharing his great performance.”

Sixty passengers and four crew members of the American Airlines Airlines and three soldiers aboard a training flight on the Blackhawk helicopter are presumed dead after The collision in Washington Wednesday evening. There was no immediate cause identified, but the officials said that the flight conditions were clear because the Jet coming from Wichita made a routine landing when the helicopter stolen on its way.

Washington firefighters, John Donllly, said officials did not believe that anyone who had survived.

“We have a broken heart to learn that artistic skaters, as well as their families, friends and coaches, are considered to be among those on board,” American figure skating in a statement. “Our thoughts concern all those who are affected by this tragedy.

“Figure skating is more than a sport – it is a very united family – and we hold together.”

Considered one of the most prestigious clubs in the world, the Boston skating club produced Dick Button and the world champions of the Olympics and Albright last week.

The club, which is about to welcome the world championships in this spring, sent 18 skaters to nationals in all.

The figure skating and massachusetts flags in the United States were lowered Thursday outside the Centennial Club ice rink. Flower deliveries arrived at the reception, while visitors were welcomed with long hugs and tears.

“We have already crossed tragedies – as Americans, as people – and we are strong. And I guess that’s how we answer it, “said Kerrigan, a double Olympic medalist and Boston skating club. “And so my answer is to be with people who are close to my heart, I like and that I need. I needed support, that’s why I’m here.

On the two skates of the club, the young skaters practiced their routines in silence.

“The skaters are resilient and they want to skate,” said Zeghibe. “I think they are also coming to the club and will come to the club as an opportunity to meet and cry together.”

A table that had been filled with messages wishing all the skaters in Wichita was replaced at noon by one with photos framed by Lane, Han and the coaches. In front of the photos, there were lit candles; Behind them, six white roses stood in six simple vases.

“My heart is broken by the tragic loss of my skater colleagues in this devastating accident,” said defending world champion Ilia Malinin, who won her third national resistant title to Wichita. “The artistic skating community is a family, and this loss is beyond words.”

Lane, 16, was a champion of sectional carriers who became popular among the social networks community, where he has thousands of Tiktok followers. On Wednesday, he published a video showing him by making a triple toe loop to conclude the development camp.

“I am very happy to have qualified the national development camp,” Lane said in an Instagram position on Wednesday. “It is my goal almost since I realized that it was one thing. I learned so much new information that I can apply to my daily life and I met so many incredible people. »»

Later, he posted a photo of him aboard the plane just before she leaves Wichita.

Lane’s father said Spencer had an infectious personality.

“In his original club in Boston, he was just loved by everyone, from adults who led the club to the smallest skaters to people who compete for a blow to the Olympic Games,” said Douglas Lane in Wpri in Providence, Rhode Island . “They loved him.”

Naunov and Shishkova have moved to the United States and have become coaches, first at the Connecticut International Skating Center and since 2017 at the Boston Club which has served as a training ground for world class skaters since 1912. They have Completed together during pairs with two Olympic Games, in 1992 and 1994.

“We were together at the Olympic Games. But in 1994, I myself was occupied and separated from many of what was going on, “said Kerrigan, whose attack on Cronies of Rival Tonya Harding dominated the news of the Lillehammer Games.

“Everything you heard about them is a little difficult-but with a smile on their faces,” she said. “Entering here and not seeing it would be very strange for all those who come here, especially those who are here after day. And it’s going to be difficult.

Han was only 13 years old, but already showing the Olympic potential, said Zehibe.

“We watched Jinna grow here, from a tiny tyke in this incredibly mature 13 -year -old child,” said Zehibe. “A great interpreter, a great competitor. And out of the ice, a big child – as we will say “on the right”. »»

For the Boston Club, the accident was a strange reminder of a 1961 plane crash that killed the entire American delegation on the way to the world championships in Prague. The world championships were canceled that year out of respect for the American team killed in the accident.

Albright said she went to Europe to encourage the team if she had not been to the medical school at the time. She lost her coach and 22 friends on this flight.

“Like today, 1961 was a tragic moment. The day the music stopped, a bit like that, “said the former USOC vice-president Paul George, who was the American pairs the following year. “It took time, but we came back – I think better, better.”

The club is preparing to welcome the world championships at Boston TD Garden from March 25 to 30. Zeghibe said the plans were to have a “super and incredible event”.

“We are quite busy and we cannot take a break,” he said. “We must continue to move.”

The European Championships This week takes place in Tallinn, Estonia this week. They continued Thursday as planned and there was a moment of silence during the competition for the victims.

“Today, the world of figure skating has a broken heart,” said the president of the International Skating Union, Jae Youl Kim. “We share our deepest and sincere condolences with the families and friends of all those who have lost their lives in this terrible accident. Losing as many members of our community in this way puts sadness beyond words. »»

___

Skretta reported to Kansas City, Missouri.

___

AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports