TALLINN – The 2 Russian determine skating coaches killed within the American Airways crash have been two-time Olympians and former world champions within the pairs occasion.
They have been additionally a married couple with a son who completed fourth final week on the U.S. nationwide championships in Wichita, Kansas. Their son was not on the similar flight.
Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov received a world championship title collectively in pairs skating in 1994 and narrowly missed out on Olympic medals that yr on the Lillehammer Video games earlier than shifting to the U.S. and training generations of younger skaters in New England.
After their son Maxim Naumov skated on the nationwide championships, the 52-year-old Shishkova and her 55-year-old husband stayed in Wichita for a growth camp for a number of the most promising younger skaters within the nation.
On Wednesday night time, the American Airways jet they have been on collided with an Military helicopter close to Washington and crashed into the frigid waters of the Potomac River. There have been 60 passengers and 4 crew members on the American Airways flight and three troopers aboard the Blackhawk helicopter. Hope of rescuing any survivors evaporated by dawn.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Thursday morning that the pair had been on board the aircraft, and the Skating Membership of Boston, the place they coached, mentioned Shishkova and Naumov had been killed.
“We’re sorry and ship condolences to the households and pals who misplaced these of our fellow residents who died within the aircraft crash,” Peskov mentioned.
Two teenage determine skaters and their moms who have been affiliated with the Boston membership have been additionally on the flight.
Lyudmila Velikova, the previous coach of Shishkova and Naumov, informed Russian state information company Tass she had been in contact with Shishkova and Naumov recurrently and that that they had spoken shortly earlier than final week’s occasion in Kansas.
“Every thing was going effectively for them. They traveled to the primary competitions in America they usually had superb, worthy college students,” Velikova mentioned. “Many individuals needed to work with them.”
Shishkova and Naumov began skating collectively within the Eighties within the Soviet Union and have been two-time Olympians, however the peak of their profession got here in 1994 after they received a world championship gold medal collectively in Chiba, Japan. It was simply over a month after that they had narrowly missed out on medals on the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.
Shishkova and Naumov have been amongst many Russian skaters who sought a brand new life as coaches within the U.S. following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Their profiles on the Skating Membership of Boston web site acknowledged that every had certified as sports activities instructors in St. Petersburg, Russia, and that every had not less than 20 years of teaching expertise. That they had additionally coached on the Worldwide Skating Middle of Connecticut.
Certainly one of their prime college students was their very own son, who received the U.S. junior males’s title in 2020. He was named final week on the U.S. crew to compete at subsequent month’s 4 Continents Championships in South Korea and as an alternate for the world championships in Boston in March.
The Russian skating federation issued a press release of condolences Thursday.
“The Russian Determine Skating Federation, Russian skaters, coaches, judges and specialists are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragedy which has occurred in Washington,” the federation mentioned in a press release. “All of us specific our honest condolences to the households and pals of those that have died, and likewise to the U.S. Determine Skating Affiliation, which has misplaced gifted junior athletes and certified coaches on this air catastrophe. A few of them have been our compatriots and had made a big contribution to (Russian) determine skating.”
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