Olympic gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano said it’s been a surreal few days after some of his friends were killed in Wednesday’s plane crash near Washington, D.C., after returning home from a prestigious training camp for young skaters in Wichita, Kansas. Boitano was also in Wichita for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
“Our figure skating community is really connected. We’re a small community, but we’re very close-knit. So when something happens to one of us, we all feel it, and we all try to gather around for support,” Boitano said in an interview on “CBS Mornings” on Friday.
World-renowned Russian figure skating coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, teenage skaters Spencer Lane and Jinna Han, and their mothers, Christine Lane and Jin Han, were among those on board American Airlines flight 5342 that crashed into the Potomac River after a midair collision with a Black Hawk helicopter.
“Incredible people”
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Boitano, who earned a gold medal for his performance in the men’s singles at the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, said he has been friends with fellow Olympians Naumov and Shishkova for years. The couple won the pairs title at the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships.
“We did a lot of TV shows together, skated in professional shows all the time. And they were just an incredible…not only great skaters and great representatives of the sport – they were incredible people, just kind and caring,” Boitano said.
The World champion Russian skaters were now coaching, “creating the next generation of champions for America,” Boitano said.
Special moment in Wichita
On Sunday, Boitano presented Naumov and Shishkova’s son, Maxim, with an award for finishing fourth in the senior men’s division at the U.S. Championships. Maxim was not on the flight with his parents.
“I was there giving him his award,” recalled Boitano.
Boitano said he’s since reached out to Doug Zeghibe, the CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, to let Maxim know that he’s there for anything he needs.
Boitano said Naumov and Shishkova will be remembered for their talents – but more than that, they will be known for being great parents and great people.
“I mean, I saw them coaching and saw their relationship with their son, and I always thought to myself, you know, if I had a coach in them, it would be a fantastic experience. They are the type of people that I want supporting me at the rail when I was out on the ice. So just incredibly kind, caring, nice people. It is a huge loss for our skating community not only just their coaching but them as people,” he added.
