Colorado figure skater who lost coach in 1961 plane crash remembers coaches killed Wednesday

Yahoo

31-01-2025

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) — Some of the victims in Wednesday's deadly plane collision in Washington, D.C. are confirmed to be a part of the U.S. Figure Skating team. This is not the first time tragedy has struck this team.
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed on Thursday several of its athletes, coaches and family members were aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter Wednesday evening in Washington, D.C., while returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
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'We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available,' said U.S. Figure Skating in a statement.
The U.S. Figure Skating headquarters in Colorado Springs was closed to the public on Thursday, with its flag outside at half-staff. Across the street at the Broadmoor Hotel, at the old site of U.S. Figure Skating, sits a memorial to remember the victims killed in the 1961 plane crash, where all of the U.S. World Figure Skating team lost their lives in Brussels on their way to the 1961 World Figure Skating Championship in Prague.
'Today, I just couldn't help but stop and look at the bench and read the sign. The athletes who lost their lives, of course, the ripples go far beyond the competitors. The families, coaches, colleagues: It runs deep. It's a really deep wound for all of figure skating,' said Colorado Springs resident Jeff Cooper, who stopped by the Broadmoor memorial. 'The figure skating community in Colorado Springs is an old legacy.'
Among the victims of the 1961 crash were lifelong skater and now-coach Janet Champion's coach, Edi Scholdan.
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'That's what I was thinking … not us again,' said Champion. 'People had been calling me, worried that I was on the flight because I was in Wichita.'
Champion had just returned to Colorado Springs from the camp in Kansas when she heard the news that a few coaches she knew were on Wednesday's plane crash.
'Just horrible. You think, you just can't believe it. You want to think, no, no, that just can't be,' said Champion. 'Some of our top young skaters, the stars of our future were at the camp and a few of them were on the plane crash.'
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