Bay Area U.S. Olympians & ice skating community mourn crash victims
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Bay Area is home to many top ice skaters.
The tight-knit community of skaters spoke about how they will remember the crash victims.
"I did see some of them last week, so it's kind of surreal," said Alysa Liu, a 2022 U.S. Olympian from Oakland.
Liu said she saw some of the athletes and coaches just days before they were killed in the plane crash.
She was in Wichita, Kansas to compete in the U.S. Nationals. Liu and others said among the victims were talented skaters ages 10 to 17; lives cut short before realizing their full potential.
"They all had such a drive and passion for this sport. And they really loved what they did," said Liu.
"As soon as I heard it was a plane coming from Wichita, my heart just fell to the floor," said Polina Edmunds, a 2014 U.S. Olympian.
She was also in Wichita attending the Nationals.
She said the young athletes, parents, and coaches were flying home from a development camp that took place after the competition.
"It's just been nothing short of unbelievable devastation," said Edmunds.
"We all have a dark spot in every rink in the country today," said Paige Scott, general manager of Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center in San Francisco.
Ice blue balloons now float at the skating rink in honor of the lives lost in the crash. "All of us in the skating world knew that the U.S. Championship had just been in Wichita. We were all praying. And praying the best we could," said Scott.
Members of the skating community said those onboard included a couple who were the 1994 World Champions pairs ice skating team.
They are husband and wife Vadim Naumov and Yevgeniya Shishkova, who worked as coaches.
Fortunately, their adult son, who's also an ice skater, was not on that flight.
"I admire them so much. They were world champions, and they also coach a lot of top skaters," said Arthur Liu, father of Alysa Liu. "Everybody is in a state of shock."
"Although it's really soon and everyone is still grieving, a lot of us just want to somehow help," said Alysa Liu.
Liu said U.S. Figure Skating is working on starting an emergency fund to help the victims' families.People in the ice skating community said the crash victims came from the Skating Club of Boston and Ashford Ice House in Virginia near Washington, D.C.
Everyone who spoke with KTVU said they are all one family.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Tom Daley speaks out about his father's death as he admits he 'didn't know who to turn to'
Tom Daley "didn't know who to turn to" when his dad died. The 31-year-old Olympian lost his father, Robert, to a brain tumour more than a decade ago, but he is sure that his dad is still "supporting" him with everything as he goes on in his life and career. He told People: "When he was gone from my life, I didn't really know who to turn to or who to talk to about lots of things. "There wasn't really anyone that would bring it out of me, because my dad was always someone who kind of knew exactly what I was thinking and how I was feeling and knew how to fix it. "He supports me all the way, and if I didn't have his support system, I wouldn't be here now 'cause I wouldn't want to carry on." Tom has sons Robbie, six, as well as two-year-old Phoenix with his husband Dustin Lance Black, and recently admitted that losing his dad was one of the "most difficult" things he has ever had to go through but still takes inspiration from his dad when it comes to his parenting style. He said: "I model lots of my parenting and lots of the things that I do every day around what I learned from my dad. He my biggest cheerleader. He was there for every training session, every competition, and he was a huge part of my life, day in, day out. "Losing him was one of the most difficult things that I ever had to deal with." Yet I was dealing with that in a very public way in the U.K. Looking back on all of that footage was quite challenging to watch because I felt really sorry for the younger Tom that I kind of was just carrying on and putting on a brave face, and I didn't ever want to bother anyone with how I was feeling because I didn't want to ever make anyone else feel uncomfortable." Tom has discussed his life and career at length in the new documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds' but admitted that he initially had reservations about speaking about such personal things on camera. He said: "I wasn't sure about doing it initially. You know what? This is something that I would love to be able to then show my kids in the future and be able to be like, 'Look, this is what Papa did. This is the thing that Papa was doing day in, day out' And the things that I did, and be able to get to know the relationship I had with my dad and all of that stuff."
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Paul DeJong taking batting practice as he recovers from getting hit in the face by a pitch
NEW YORK — Washington Nationals infielder Paul DeJong, sidelined since his nose was broken by a pitch in mid-April, is taking batting practice and could soon start a minor league rehab assignment. DeJong took BP on Wednesday with a face protector flap and hit against right-hander Derek Law in a simulated game — and will do so again in a few days, Nationals manager Dave Martinez said.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Paul DeJong taking batting practice as he recovers from getting hit in the face by a pitch
NEW YORK (AP) — Washington Nationals infielder Paul DeJong, sidelined since his nose was broken by a pitch in mid-April, is taking batting practice and could soon start a minor league rehab assignment. DeJong took BP on Wednesday with a face protector flap and hit against right-hander Derek Law in a simulated game — and will do so again in a few days, Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. 'If everything goes well, he's pretty close,' Martinez said. 'He's itching to go back and play. I know he's got to go back to see the doctor one more time and then after that hopefully we can get him out.' DeJong was hit by a 92.7 mph pitch from Pittsburgh's Mitch Keller on April 15, fracturing his nose, orbital and orbital floor. The 31-year-old had surgery six days later. Law has been sidelined since spring training with right forearm inflammation. The 34-year-old right-hander threw 25 pitches, reaching 93 mph, and mixed in sliders and changeups. ___ AP MLB:
