New Delhi: It was possibly the worst morning at the Skating Club of Boston in years as you could not find any young talent showcasing the enormous skillsets on the ice, that unfortunately remained unused. A temporary halt, at the 100-year-old institute, could be well felt with scores of skaters with tears in their eyes, assembling at their Alma Mater to mourn the demise of their community members, who were on board the flight that crashed over Washington DC after a collision with a an Army helicopter.
From 89-year-old Tenley Albright, a 1956 Olympic champion, probably one of first students of the institute and the first American woman to win figure skating gold to 16-year-old Patrick Blackwell of East Greenwich, one of the bright talents of the Skating Club, all gathered to share hugs in this hour of grief.
6 out of 67 killed belonged to the institute
Out of the total 67 deaths that took place due to the fatal air crash, six of them belonged to the Skating Club of Boston. It was a fatal collision of an Army helicopter and American Eagle Flight No. 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport which took the lives of more the five dozen people. Skaters who lost their live in the plane crash were Jinna Han and her mother Jin Han, Spencer Lane and his mother Christine Lane, and coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova – Russian world champions who were on the ill fated plane.
All the members of the club were returning to Boston after participating in a national development camp in Wichita, Kan. Had Jinna Han and Spencer Lane returned safely, they would have quickly gone back on the ice at the fantastic facility the club possess and couple Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova would have continued training budding talents but destiny had different plans.
Not the first tragedy
For the Skating Club of Boston, this was not the first airline tragedy. Back in 1961, the entire United States skating team was killed when plane taking its members to the world championships in Prague crashed in Belgium. Ten members of the delegation belonged to the Boston Club.
Out of the total 67 people that died in a fatal collision between an American plane and an Army helicopter, 6 belonged to the Skating Club of Boston. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
