Tears flow at a poignant figure skating event in Washington benefiting victims of the DC plane crash

Associated Press

02-03-2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — A star-studded group of some of the best U.S. figure skaters of the past and present took the ice Sunday in the nation's capital to remember and raise money for the victims of the midair collision outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
American icons of the sport Kristi Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano emceed the Legacy on Ice benefit event, which included performances by the likes of Johnny Weir, two-time U.S. champion Amber Glenn and reigning men's world champion Ilia Malinin, along with poignant tributes to the 67 people who died when an Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight and crashed into the Potomac River on Jan. 29. That included 28 members of the figure skating community, some of whom lived and trained in the Washington area.
'We are not powerless,' Boitano said in opening the show. 'As skaters, we learned to be resilient and to always find a path forward that is positive.'
Ted Leonsis, head of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which staged the event along with U.S. Figure Skating, DC Fire & EMS Foundation and the Greater Washington Community Foundation, hopes doing this at Capital One Arena helps families in the healing process the way concerts and sports at Madison Square Garden did in New York in 2001 after 9/11.
'Sports can play this convening and healing role,' Leonsis said. 'Our goal is to allow the community to heal, kind of a collective hug for these communities, but then we want to raise a lot of money.'
The dasher boards had 67 stars, one for each of the victims, and skaters put flowers on a rinkside table of candles before beginning their routines.
Glenn kicked things off by performing to Andra Day's 'Rise Up' and broke down in tears at center ice when she finished. Weir, whose family moved to Newark, Delaware, when he was 12 for him to pursue his skating career, dedicated his performance to the members of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club who were on American Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, following a national development camp there coinciding with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Peggy Fleming, 1968 Olympic champion, said she hopes the event 'will heal and give strength to our skaters in the future.' Alysa Liu wants to try to honor the memory of those lost so she 'can keep going.'
'It's still a struggle and was a struggle,' said Liu, who performed to 'Hero' by Mariah Carey. 'Coming together and seeing everyone again has definitely been the most reassuring feeling. And it's just because everyone knows exactly how everyone feels. I think we get each other, and it's nice that we get to just do what we love.'
Forty-one years after winning gold at the Olympics, Scott Hamilton skated onto the ice and led a prayer. Fans lit the arena with their cellphones for a lengthy moment of silence that was pierced by a low murmur of crying.
Thirteen-year-old Isabella Aparicio skated in memory of her brother, Franco, and father, Luciano, who were on the flight, and wept on her knees at the conclusion of her performance. Maxim Naumov, who lost his parents in the crash, wiped away tears as he left the ice, holding up an electric candle as applause rained down.
'Imagine' blared from arena speakers during one ensemble performance, Malinin dazzled the crowd with his jump-filled routine and Lady Gaga's 'Hold My Hand' was the soundtrack of the grand finale of the emotional two-plus-hour show.
'We're all here to support one another, whether it was our friends that were on that plane, family members, coaches, teammates, loved ones,' said 2014 Olympic team bronze medalist Jason Brown, who skated to 'The Impossible Dream' by Josh Groban. 'In skating, especially, we're all so interconnected. We all travel for this sport. We get to do what we love. And travel is such a huge part of what we do, so it all hit us really hard because this is just such an integral part of what we do, as well as those are people that we're closest to.'
Members of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals were among those in attendance a little over 24 hours after the Capitals promoted the event during their game Saturday by wearing Legacy on Ice decals on their helmets. So were hundreds of first responders and their family members, after some came from as far away as Baltimore to be part of the rescue and recovery efforts.
'This was an incredibly challenging scene for those first responders,' DC Fire and EMS Foundation executive director Amy Mauro said. 'The things that they witnessed are very difficult and will stay with them for a long time. This is part of their grieving and healing process, as well.'
In addition to being a gathering place for figure skaters, first responders and all the families affected by the crash, the intent was to raise money for all of them.
'We've heard from the families about things like college tuition for young children who are in elementary school today but also things like therapy and health care that they need,' Monumental president of external affairs and chief administrative officer Monica Dixon said. 'Every family will choose how to use those funds in the best way that they choose.'
The event aired live on Monumental Sports Network and streamed on Peacock. NBC will show an encore performance March 30.
'That's what we're hoping: We raise a lot of donations that way,' Leonsis said. 'People care. The lesson in this is that, to me, if you personalize something like this, you can come together and do the right things in the right way. I'm proud of what we've done.'