Colorado Springs figure skating community remembers those who died in D.C. plane crash

The Hill

Figure Skating community killed in a plane crash last week.
Figure Skating.
Figure Skating.
“The energy, excitement and joy was felt by everyone,” Dillon said during the vigil in Colorado Springs.
Kall was 13 years old then, and lost 10 people out of her Colorado Springs rink, including her coach.

POSITIVE

Inside the U, mourners gathered. S. . Monday evening in downtown Colorado Springs at the Olympic and Paralympic Museum in remembrance of U.S. S. . A plane crashed last week, killing members of the figure skating community.

Skating officials, former Olympians, and young athletes who had accompanied the fallen skaters to a camp in Kansas prior to their tragic flight to Washington, D.C., were among those present at the vigil. A.

Victoria Alcantara, 19, who has been training in Colorado Springs since the summer and is originally from Australia, said, “It makes me really grateful to have the opportunity to still skate, especially with the parents being lost.”.

“It got me to thinking about how much [parents] gave up for us, and I think every skater should be really thankful they’re still with us.”. Adding, with tears in her eyes, “and how quickly life can go and how much we have to cherish those around us.”.

Last Wednesday, twenty-eight athletes, their families, and coaches were on their way from Wichita, Kansas, following their participation in a development camp, according to U. S. . Figure Skating. On Wednesday, January, American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers, who also perished, killing 64 people on board. 28. No survivors survived the crash.

U. A. The 11 skaters on board were between the ages of 13 and 16, according to Olympic officials. After witnessing their peers win U, they had remained in Kansas. S. . winners in both the junior and senior divisions. During their lengthy stay in Wichita, they participated in drills at a camp and had time to train and support one another, according to Justin Dillon, senior director of athlete high performance at U. A. Figure skating.

At the Colorado Springs vigil, Dillon remarked, “Everyone felt the energy, excitement, and joy.”. All we could hear in the camp was that it wasn’t long enough. These sportsmen were avid skaters. “.”.

Figure skating competitor Christy Kall, who participated in the 1964 Winter Olympics, likened the grief in the figure skating community to the suffering after a 1961 plane crash that claimed the U.S. S. . The Belgian figure skating team.

On Monday, Kall remarked, “It’s the same tight throat, stomach ache.”.

Ten people, including her coach, left Kall’s Colorado Springs rink when she was thirteen years old.

According to Samuel Auxier, interim CEO of U, many of the young skaters who passed away last week wanted to compete in the Olympics like Kall did. S. . The statement was issued on Sunday by Figure Skating.

“We will always remember them.”. May we be strengthened and inspired in the days ahead by their excellence and passion. Our hearts are heavy with grief for the time being, and we stand with their friends and family in our grief over this unfathomable loss,” Auxier stated.

Furthermore, U. provides counseling services. S. The U was founded by Figure Skating. A. Families affected directly by the incident can apply for the Figure Skating Family Support Fund.

“The UH-60 Black Hawk, based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, was on a training exercise when it collided with the regional jet out of Wichita, Kansas, which was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members and was getting ready to land,” the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Three miles south of the White House and U.S. S. . Despite crews recovering wreckage from the Potomac River on Monday, the Capitol was still being investigated.

This report included contributions from the Associated Press.

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