Figure skaters to be memorialized at worlds in Boston - ESPN

Figure skaters and others killed in the midair collision near Washington, D.C., on Wednesday will be honored when the world championships are staged in Boston in March.

International Skating Union president Jae Youl Kim held back tears Friday in making the announcement during the European championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

Skaters, coaches and family members on their way back from a national skating camp in Wichita, Kansas, were among those who died when a passenger jet approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport hit an Army helicopter. They included two teenage skaters, their mothers and two coaches who were part of the Skating Club of Boston.

In all, 14 members of the figure skating community were passengers on the airplane, according to Skating Club of Boston executive director Doug Zeghibe.

Among them were teenage skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane from the Boston club and youth figure skater Olivia Ter, who was 12.

Also killed were Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed twice in the Olympics. They were listed as coaches at the Boston club.

«At the moment we want to focus on mourning those who lost their lives and also provide support for the ones who lost their loved ones. We'll take one step at a time,» said Kim, who became visibly emotional and paused to fight back tears as he told The Associated Press about the effect of the crash on the skating community. «We will discuss with our counterparts in Boston what should be done to honor those who left us in this tragic way. One way to honor them is to make sure that we provide the greatest event, to show the respect.»

The world championships will be held March 25-30 at TD Garden in Boston.

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