NORWOOD, Mass. — Local figure skating legend Nancy Kerrigan cried on Thursday when speaking about two promising young skaters who died along with their mothers and coaches in a plane crash in Washington, D.C.
Jinna Han, 13, of Mansfield and Spencer Lane, 16, of Barrington, Rhode Island were identified by the The Skating Club of Boston as the two skaters who died.
Their mothers, Jin Han and Christine Lane, and their coaches, Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, both of Norwood, who won the pairs title at the 1994 World Championships and competed twice in the Olympics, also died.
“Not sure how to process it, which is why I’m here,” Kerrigan, an Olympic medalist, told reporters at the The Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, while breaking down in tears.
Kerrigan went to the club on Thursday with fellow Olympic skater Tenley Albright.
“We just wanted to be here and be part of our community,” said Kerrigan, who won bronze medals at the 1991 World Championships and the 1992 Winter Olympics, silver medals at the 1992 World Championships and the 1994 Winter Olympics, as well as the 1993 U.S. National Figure Skating Championship.
“The kids here really work hard, their parents work hard to be here. But I just, I feel for the athletes, the skaters, and their families but anyone who was on that plane, not just the skaters, because it’s such a tragic event,” Kerrigan said.
The Olympic legend said she was up all night watching reports about the American Airlines plane that was involved in a deadly midair collision with a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night.
“We’ve been through tragedies before as Americans, as people, and we are strong,” Kerrigan said. “And I guess it’s how we respond to it, and so my response is to be with people I care about and I love and I needed support, so that’s why I am here.”
“I don’t know. A little bit at a time,” Kerrigan said, crying. “I think it’s shock.”
The club sent 18 athletes to compete at the U.S. Championships, and it sent 12 athletes to the National Development Camp, said Doug Zeghibe, CEO and executive director of the Skating Club of Boston.
Surveillance video captured the crash, and shows the airplane colliding with an Army helicopter and falling into the icy Potomac River.
“When you find out you know some of the people on the plane, it’s even a bigger blow,” Kerrigan said.
The Olympic star said her thoughts are with the families of the victims and the local skaters who are now grieving.
“We just wish them well, the families, the courage and the strength,” Kerrigan said.
Of the skaters at the club now dealing with the sudden loss of their peers and friends, Kerrigan said, “We all grieve differently and I just urge them all to just be patient with each other.”
“Just be patient with one another, and be there to support one another,” Kerrigan said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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