Russian Skating Champions from 1990s Among Victims of Crashed US Airliner

Russian Skating Champions from 1990s Among Victims of Crashed US Airliner

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia Russia-born coaches of ice skating who were world champions in the past, Yevgenia Shishkova as well as Vadim Naumov, were on board the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River in Washington on Wednesday evening as reported by the Kremlin and state media reported.

Shishkova and Naumov, who married in 1994, won the world championships for pair Figure skating. The U.S. media reported that they had resided in the United States since at least 1998 when training young skaters.

Many people were believed to be dead following an American Airlines passenger jet carrying 64 passengers collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter before plunging into the freezing Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.
U.S. Figure Skating, the governing organization for figure skating across the United States, said Shishkova and Naumov were believed to be returning from the National Development Camp held with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Kansas travelling with skaters amid their youth.

Russia’s Mash news site released a list of 13 skaters, including youngsters of Russian immigrants from Russia to the United States, who it stated could be in the aircraft.
In St Petersburg, Ludmila Velikova, who trained Shishkova and Naumov as children and was key to their success, revealed to Reuters that fourteen skaters and trainers were aboard the plane.

She felt devastated over the deaths in the deaths of Shishkova and Naumov; however, she was relieved by the fact that her son Maxim, who competed in Kansas, was not on the same plane.

‘THEY WERE MY CHILDREN’

“They were my favourite sportspeople. They were part of my first attempt at the world championships and became champions in 1994. They were talented and beautiful people,” declared Velikova, upset.

“Apart from anything else, they were my children. Zhenya (Shishkova) trained with me from 11 and Vladik (Naumov) from 14. They were like my own children.

What’s happened is awful. The best people have been taken away from us.”
TASS said Inna Volyanskaya, a former skater who was part of the Soviet Union before 1991, was also said to have been aboard this plane.

According to its website, she was a Washington figure skating club trainer.The Kremlin offered condolences to family members of Russian citizens who died in the crash. It also said that the report the crash killed Shishkova and Naumov on the plane seemed to be confirmed.

“There were other of our fellow citizens on board. It’s bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send our condolences to families and friends,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The Russian Figure Skating Federation expressed its condolences for those who suffered losses in the accident. However, it said it could not discuss the incident further.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.

SKATERS HAD JUST COMPETED IN THE US CHAMPIONSHIPS

More than 180 athletes participated in this year’s Jan. 20-26 championships held in Kansas, the organization said. The camp for development took place Jan. 27-28 for more than 150 skaters aspiring across all performance levels, according to the U.S. Figure Skating website.

The International Skating Union (ISU) declared itself “deeply shocked by the tragic accident.”
“We are heartbroken to learn that figure skaters, along with their families, friends, and coaches, are understood to be among those on board,” the global governing body stated in an announcement. “Our prayers are with those affected by this tragedy.

“Figure skating is more than a sport – it’s a close-knit family – and we stand together. We remain in close contact with U.S. Figure Skating and offer our full support during this challenging time.”

Officials have not yet revealed the number of victims killed during Wednesday night’s midair collision between the helicopter and the airliner; however, they have suggested there could not be any survivors.
In 1961, the entire 18-member U.S. figure skating team lost their lives after a fatal plane accident way for the World Championships held in Prague.

(Reporting by Reuters in Moscow, Felix Light in Tbilisi and Lori Ewing in Manchester; Writing by Andrew Osborn/Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Peter Graff)

Source: Reuters