Shishkova and Vadim Naumov Evgenia were a Russian artistic skating couple that competed in multiple Olympic Games and medalized in multiple world championships.
The Kremlin said Thursday that the artistic skating stars were among those who aboard an American Airlines flight that collided with a helicopter from the US army near the Reagan International Airport on Wednesday night.
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Shishkova and Vadim Naumov Evgenia were killed in a plane crash, said the Kremlin. (Reuters)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Shishkova and Naumov were on the plane.
“Unfortunately, we see that this sad information is confirming. There were other fellow citizens there. Bad news today from Washington. We regret and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash,” he said.
It was the Naumov coach who presented the couple in 1985, wanting them to work together despite the fact that Naumov rejected the idea at the beginning. They began working together in 1987 and competed and won the bronze in the 1991 European championship while representing the former Soviet Union. The couple would win two more bronze and silver medals in the event.
Live updates: the military helicopter collides with airplanes near the Reagan National Airport
From left to right, in pairs are the silver medalists Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov de Russia, the gold medalists Radka Kovarikova and Rene Novotny of the Czech Republic, and the bronze medalists Jenni Meno and the Todd sand of the United States. (Reuters)
Shishkova and Naumov also obtained praise on the world stage. In the 1993 World Championship, the two obtained a bronze medal. The following year in Chiba, Japan, the two collected their first gold medal. They ended with a silver in 1995 in Birmingham, the United Kingdom.
The couple competed at the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville, France, and the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. They ended in fifth in 1992 and fourth in 1994.
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.
German runners -up in the couples Mandy Wotzel, left and Ingo Steuer (2nd l) with the winners Shishkova, right, and Vadim Naumov Wave to fans at the awards ceremony of the NHK Trophy Skating Grand Prize in NHK in Nagoy . (Reuters)
The Russian couple appeared as trainers of professional couples on the Skating Club of Boston website.
