Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Utah's figure-skating community mourns figure skaters lost in a Washington plane crash.
- A vigil was held, and future events will honor the victims.
- The tight-knit community grieves, remembering the young athletes' aspirations and potential.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns are taking to the ice to mourn the loss to the figure skating world in the Washington plane crash that left no survivors.
Young ice skaters, along with their parents and coaches returning home from a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, accounted for 28 of the 60 passengers aboard a regional jet that went down after a midair collision with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Jan. 29.
"They were the future. I would go as far to say they could very well have been our champions on ice in 2034 when the Olympics return to Utah. But we'll never know," said Michelle Thomson, Salt Lake Figure Skating's director of competitions and events.
On Monday afternoon, the Cottonwood Heights Figure Skating Club hosted a memorial vigil at the Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center that included a formation on the ice and a moment of silence to honor the memory of the crash victims.
Efforts will be made at future skating events in Utah to remember those lost, said Thomson, who also is a director for the Intermountain Interclub Association that represents Utah's 10 figure skating clubs, located along the Wasatch Front from Logan to Provo.
"The ripple effect is huge because U.S. figure skating is a pretty tight-knit community. All of us, with our social media and outreach, we know these kids," she said, adding some of those killed in the crash had competed at events held in Utah.
Three skaters and a coach from Park City participated in the elite development camp held after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Thomson said, but their names have not yet been made public.
"All these skaters, they have similar dreams, aspirations and goals. To get to the level of that high development camp, they've already proven they have a passion for figure skating, that they love what they're doing and they're going to make big things happen," she said.
Now, Thomson said, "to do that without their friends by their sides is heartbreaking."
It's hard on the adults, too.
"Realize that the parents were sitting in the stands together. So even though our Utah skaters got to come home and they're safe ... the skaters were on the ice with these kids just the day before," Thomson said.
All expected to see each other again soon, at future skating events.
Ogden's Kai Kovar, 18, skated in the same events in Witchita as Maxim Naumov, the 23-year-old whose parents and coaches, Russian world pairs figure skating champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were killed in the crash.
Both Kovar and his sister, pairs skater Milada Kovar, 14, are also coached by their parents, Amanda and Karel Kovar. The couple were longtime friends with Shishkova and Naumov, Thomson said.
"The Kovar family felt this loss in a different way," she said, adding that Kai Kovar is expected to compete in the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Hungary that begin at the end of the month.
"He's going to have to board a plane, and his mom is going to be with him," Thomson said. "In that way, that passion and inspiration gives strength as he goes and move on and skates, not just for himself, but for those who can't skate anymore."
Young skaters like Kai could end up competing at the 2034 Winter Games in Utah, she said. Others may be on the ice at the state's next Olympics as "sweepers," clearing the ice of flowers, toys and other items thrown by spectators.
"I look forward to watching these kids over the next nine years achieve and become the best skaters that they can," Thomson said. She said while there will be much to celebrate, the skaters lost won't be forgotten.
"Skating is a wonderful place to be right now. There's a lot of love," Thomson said, adding there's also "heavy hearts."
The crash that killed all 60 passengers and four crew members on American Airlines Flight 5342 as well as the three soldiers on the Army helicopter, took the lives of 28 skaters,parents and coaches heading home from the development camp.
The 11 skaters identified were aged 11 to 16, according to the International Olympic Committee.
