At the Boston Skating Club in Norwood, Massachusetts, Nancy Kerrigan approached the microphone with a noticeable tremor.
She had just learned of the tragedy that occurred Wednesday night, when a commercial airliner crashed into a military helicopter in midair close to Reagan Washington National Airport, killing sixty-four individuals on board.
According to CEO Doug Zeghibe, two coaches, two skaters, and two mothers were among the six victims who were connected to the Boston club. According to him, the group was on its way home from Wichita, Kansas, where they attended the National Development Camp for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
The club’s alumnus and two-time Olympic figure skating medalist Kerrigan talked while crying.
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Kerrigan stated, “We just wanted to be here and be a part of our community.” I feel bad for the skaters, the athletes, and the families, but I also feel bad for everyone else on that plane. It’s such a sad incident. As Americans, we are resilient because we have experienced disasters in the past. It’s our reaction to it. I responded by saying that I needed to support the people I love and care about.
One of the best figure skating programs in the country is Boston Skating Club. It was founded in 1912, making it the third-oldest figure skating club in the United States to be in continuous operation.
The organization has previously been at the center of an aircraft accident.
According to Zeghibe, Wednesday’s tragedy brought up unpleasant memories of the 1961 Sabena Flight 548 crash, which included 72 people, including all 18 members of the U.S. figure skating team and 16 others who were traveling with them. No one survived.
Members of this club made up over half of the passengers on the plane in 1961. According to Zeghibe, losing coaches like this also means losing the sport’s future, therefore it had far-reaching effects on the skating club and the sport in this nation. Redeveloping it has taken a long time. In my opinion, the Skating Club of Boston has only recently, some 60 years after the 1961 tragedy, begun to emerge from the shadow of that incident. This is really upsetting.
Over the years, the program has produced scores of Olympic, world, North American, and U.S. champions, Kerrigan being just one of them.
At the Winter Olympics in 1992 and 1994, she took home bronze and silver, respectively. A police baton was used to strike Kerrigan’s knee following a practice session at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, shortly before the latter event. Later on, it was discovered that the assailant had been employed by Jeff Gillooly, the spouse of Tonya Harding, Kerrigan’s opponent.
After recovering, Kerrigan participated in the Olympics and finished second to Oksana Baiul.
“The community stood behind me when I went through something tragic, not like this, but myself,” she remarked on Thursday. I’m appreciative of it, so hopefully it’s my turn now.
Zeghibe recognized the skaters as Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, together with their mothers, Jin Han and Christine Lane. The two coaches, according to officials, were Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, past Russian world champions.
Zeghibe described Han as a fantastic child off the rink, a fantastic competitor, and an excellent performance.
According to Zeghibe, the Han family witnessed Jin’s development from a small child to this remarkably mature 13-year-old. We spend a lot of time talking about the athletes, but I believe we will miss their mothers just as much. Simply wonderful individuals.
After performing in his first professional show last December in Cambridge, Lane was beaming, according to Elin Schran, the creator of Joy Skate Productions, who works closely with the Boston Skating Club.
He approached me with an ear-to-ear smile and said, “Now I understand.” “I get it,” she said. He began to realize that he had a connection to the audience and that his talent was bringing joy to others.
According to Russian state news agency Tass, Shishkova, 52, and Naumov, 55, had been residing in the United States since 1998, following their retirement from competitive skating, and had won the couples figure skating event at the 1994 World Championship.
According to Zeghibe, Shishkova and Naumov assisted children in learning the sport as development coaches at the Boston Skating Club.
Tenley Albright, a former member of the Boston Skating Club and two-time world champion in 1953 and 1955, spoke Thursday in front of an empty rink. The ice is usually packed with competitors at that time, so she thought the tranquil scene behind her was unusual.
Albright pointed to the rink and remarked, “I really can’t believe that it happened because I picture them right here.” At that entryway, the coaches were constantly present. We were all inspired by the skaters’ incredible feats as they sailed across the ice. We simply feel that we must be together, and it is awful and depressing to us.
When asked how the Boston Skating Club can recover from Wednesday’s tragedy, former U.S. Figure Skating Foundation president and member Paul George said it will begin with mourning.
“We will pay tribute to the athletes and their families,” he stated. However, I believe we will also motivate people to return, go back on the ice, and go about their lives. If at all possible, be more focused. We shall live.