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Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton held back tears on Friday as he remembered the victims from the figure skating community who died after an American Airlines flight traveling from development camp in Kansas to Washington, D.C., collided with an Army helicopter in midair late Wednesday night.
The four-time men’s singles world champion spoke fondly of the victims during an appearance on TODAY but called the reality of this week’s tragedy “overwhelming.”
Figure Skater Scott Hamilton of the United States competing in the figure skating competition in the XIV Olympic Winter Games circa 1984 in Sarajevo, Bosnia. ( Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
“For this to happen just days after those championships were over is just devastating, shocking – it just doesn’t make any sense. . . .We’re no stranger to tragedy but this was just beyond devastation.”
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Officials have said that 14 skaters, coaches and family members were aboard American Airlines Flight 5342 when it collided with a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport, near D.C., at around 9 p.m. local time.
Many of the victims have been identified, including Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, the renowned ice skating coaches who won a world championship title together in 1994.
World champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov of Russia execute a throw during the pairs short competition at the World Figure Skating competition in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on March 19, 1996. (Dave Buston/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
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Hamilton became emotional when he spoke of the couple, who settled in America to become coaches following their successful career, which culminated in two Olympic appearances. He saw them just days before the crash while attending the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Kansas.
“I actually sat with them for a nice visit in Wichita,” Hamilton recalled Friday.”
“To think that they’re gone is, um, I can’t wrap my head around the last 36 hours. It’s just been devastating, and the loss is just beyond description. My heart is shattered.”
Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov of Russia perform during free skating in the pairs event of the NHK Trophy International Figure Skating Competition at Nagoya, Japan, on Dec. 9, 1995. AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File
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Shishkova and Naumov married in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1995, and they moved to Connecticut. They had a son, Maxim, who competed in men’s singles in the U.S. He was in Kansas but did not travel back with his parents. The Russian pair were coaches for the Skating Club of Boston.
Sixty passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines plane and three soldiers aboard a training flight on the helicopter are presumed dead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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