Olympic medalist Scott Hamilton recalls final meeting with champion Russian skaters days before plane crash
2025-02-01
Category: world

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.&nbsp; The four-time men’s singles world champion spoke fondly of the victims during an appearance&nbsp;on TODAY but called the reality of this week’s tragedy "overwhelming."&nbsp;  "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." CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM 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.&nbsp; Many of the victims have been identified, including&nbsp;Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, the renowned ice skating coaches who won a world championship title together in 1994.&nbsp;  YOUNG FIGURE SKATING SISTERS FROM VIRGINIA AMONG VICTIMS KILLED IN DC PLANE CRASH 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."&nbsp;  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 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.&nbsp; The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.