‘Legacy on Ice’ pays tearful tribute to victims of American Airlines collision

Skaters took to the ice to pay tribute to the 67 people who died when a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 as the plane was about to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 29.

Several of those killed were figure skaters or their family members who had been at the U.S. Figure Skating National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas.

The “Legacy on Ice” was held at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., not far from the Potomac River crash site and was organized to raise money for the victims’ families, People magazine reported.

Among those who skated were three-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir who performed to “Memory.”

Weir told People, “I think that when you’re an athlete, you’re taught to have ice in your veins and to push through anything that affects your community. And ours is so small that even if you don’t know everybody, you know them all. They’re all family in some way.”

Nathan Chen, Ilia Malinin and Nancy Kerrigan also performed along with members of the Washington Figure Skating Club which lost several members in the crash.

Sofia Bezkorovainaya, a member of Team USA, wore the dress Everyly Livingston wore last year and performed the show that Livingston had trained to do this season, skating to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in her memory. Livingston died along with her sister, mother and father on board Flight 5342.

After that song was done Bezkorovainaya and a group of skaters from the club performed to “You’ll Be in My Heart” from “Tarzan,” ending it with Bezkorovainaya holding a bouquet of white flowers high in the air in the center of the circle of skaters, The Washington Post reported.

One of the possibly most heart-wrenching performances was that of Maxim Naumov, who skated in honor of his parents, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, champion skaters in their own right, People magazine reported.

He had entered the ice holding two white roses, before placing the flowers on a table nearby.

After he was done gliding around the arena’s ice, The New York Times journalist Juliet Macur wrote, he “dropped to his knees at the center of the ice. He remained there for what seemed like forever, awash in a spotlight, looking lost and sobbing.” Macur said the arena filled with 15,000 people all cried with him while giving him a standing ovation.

The 23-year-old skater left the ice holding a candle, skating alongside other athletes.

Kristi Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano were the hosts of “Legacy on Ice,” which will be broadcast at the end of the month.

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