Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton Transfers the tears on Friday when he remembered the victims of the artistic skating community that died after an American Airlines flight that was traveling from the development camp in Kansas to Washington, DC, collided with an army helicopter in the air on Wednesday at night.
The four -time world champion of male singles spoke with love of the victims during an appearance today But he called the reality of this “overwhelming” tragedy.
The figurative skater Scott Hamilton of the United States competing in the artistic skating competition at the Winter XIV Games around 1984 in Sarajevo, Bosnia. (Focus on Sport/Getty images)
“For this to happen only a few days after these championships end it is simply devastating, shocking, it simply makes no sense … we are not oblivious to the tragedy, but this was right beyond devastation.”
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The authorities have said that 14 skaters, coaches and relatives were aboard the 5342 flight of American Airlines when he crashed with a Black Hawk UH-60 helicopter near the Reagan Washington National Airport, near DC, around 9 pm, local time.
Many of the victims have been identified, including Shishkova and Vadim Naumov evenia, The renowned ice skating coaches who won a World Championship title together in 1994.
The World Champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov de Russia execute a launch during the brief competition of couples in the world competition of artistic skating in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on March 19, 1996. (Dave Bustton/The Canadian Press through AP, file)
Young artistic skating sisters of Virginia among dead victims in a DC plane crash
Hamilton got excited When he talked about the couple, who settled in the United States to become coaches after their successful career, which culminated in two Olympic appearances. He saw them only a few days before the accident while attending the United States artistic skating championship in Kansas.
“I really sat down with them for a good visit in Wichita,” Hamilton recalled Friday. “
“Thinking that they are gone, um, I can’t understand the last 36 hours. It has simply been devastating, and the loss is beyond the description. My heart is destroyed.”
Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov de Russia act during the free skating event at the NHK Trophy International Competition Couples event in Nagoya, Japan, on December 9, 1995. AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, Archive
Shishkova and Naumov married in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1995, and moved to Connecticut. They had a son, Maxim, who competed in male singles in the United States that was in Kansas, but did not travel back with his parents. The Russian couple was a coach for the Boston skating club.
Sixty passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines plane and three soldiers aboard a helicopter training flight is presumed dead.
