Glenview athlete competed in Wichita before ice skaters who died in D.C. plane crash

Chicago Tribune

04-02-2025

As two professional skaters warmed up for their solo exhibitions Saturday at the Glenview Community Ice Center, there was a sense of quiet despite the laughter of children and families enjoying ice bumper cars and other activities at Glenview's Winterfest.
It was the first time one of the skaters, Alexa Gasparotto, would perform to a public audience since competitively skating in Wichita at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships 2025, where she placed in both the Women's Free Skate on Jan. 24 and the Women's Short Program on Jan. 23.
Only days after her success at the figure skating nationals, dozens of young skaters who had also been in Wichita, and possibly seen Gasparotto skate, were flying to Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. on American Eagle Flight 5342 when it crashed into an Army helicopter Jan. 29 and all on board were killed.
'I feel like from here on, every performance is dedicated to each of the skaters that were lost on the flight,' said Gasparotto, of Glenview, softly before performing her solo.
'I feel like for the whole skating community, that's a no brainer,' Gasparotto said.
'Every skater's mind is going to be like, 'Okay now when I skate, it's going to be for them.''
Josh Fischel, a figure skating coach at the Glenview Ice Center and also a Team USA figure skating coach, said the figure skating world is small and that he, and other skaters, knew many of those who perished in the crash.
He knew coaches Vadim Naumov and his wife Evgenia Shishkova, who died in the crash. The Russia-born couple won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships in Chiba, Japan and also competed twice in the Olympics.
Another Glenview coach, Nicole Maguire, knew Aleksandr 'Sasha' Kirsanov, an ice dancer and University of Delaware figure skating coach, who also perished.
U.S. Figure Skating, the governing body of the sport, said 28 from the figure skating community, including skaters, parents and coaches, lost their lives in the collision.
Authorities have said there were a total of 67 victims of the disaster.
The skaters on the doomed plane had been attending U.S. Figure Skating's National Development Camp, which was started in 2020 to allow about 150 young skaters at the juvenile, intermediate and novice levels who excelled at the U.S. Sectionals finals to sharpen and polish their skills in a collegial atmosphere, according to the U.S. Figure Skating website. It also said the National Development Camp immediately follows, and is held in conjunction with, the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which were held Jan. 20-26.
Fischel said skaters enter the juvenile level at around age 10 or 11, and that it contains girls under 13 and boys under 14.
'I believe the intermediate level caps out at 18,' he said, adding that those who go to the National Development Camp are usually about age 13 to 15.
Skaters at the novice level may range from about 14 to 16, he said.
'The connections in Chicago to the passengers who passed are extensive,' Fischel said. 'So many of the elite athletes in Chicago have competed against these young skaters as they all travel across the country to do various events.'
Kayla Lindgren, general manager of the Glenview Community Ice Center, said, 'The tragedy of American Airlines Flight 5342 touched multiple skaters and coaches at the Glenview Community Ice Center,' adding that many coaches and skaters knew or had skated alongside the victims.
Rainbow Animal Assisted Therapy provided therapy dogs last week and this week to help skaters as they grieve, she said, and the center is also working with Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook to bring therapists on-site for anyone wanting to talk.
Lindgren also said the Glenview Ice Center is celebrating Gasparotto's victory. 'We are privileged to have Alexa 'Lexi' Gasparotto as one of our talented Glenview Park District Skating Academy coaches at the Glenview Community Ice Center,' she commented.
'This year, Lexi was celebrated as the first African American woman to land a triple axel, and qualified for U.S. Figure Skating Nationals in Wichita, Kansas. The Park District and the Glenview Community Ice Center are incredibly proud of Lexi and her figure skating journey.'