05-02-2025
Greensboro figure skaters remember DC crash victims
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — The Summit Figure Skating Club held a vigil to mourn the loss of 28 members of the United States figure skating community who were lost aboard American Airlines flight 5342 almost one week ago.
The list of those killed includes child figure skaters and coaches as well as parents and relatives who were traveling with them.
With roughly 200,000 figure skaters nationwide, the community is hyper-connected, training in close circles and traveling to the same competitions. Their shared experiences often begin right after they learn to walk. Now, many of them are grappling with this devastating loss.
Greensboro Ice Skating Director Nicole Gaboury read all 28 names of the fallen figure skaters killed when American Airlines flight 5342 was struck by a Blackhawk helicopter and plummeted into the Potomac River.
The Summit Figure Skating Club members, many of whom were the same age as those who died, held candles and stood on their skates, forming a circle of mourning.
The losses deeply affected each person on the ice.
'These are young kids. These are skaters that just left this championship camp, the highest part of their career,' said Sofia Stalker, a skater with the SFSC.
Stalker has skated since she could walk. When she learned so many people leaving the championship camp in Wichita were on the plane, she was shocked.
The vigil was a chance to come together on the ice and show their support for the skating community.
'Everyone knows everybody … You're all there to help each other out,' said Mariana Rello, a skater with the SFSC.
Rello said skating is a lifestyle, a grind and a family. Now, the family is doing what the family does best.
'We are hurting with you. We are hurting for you, but we are always here,' she said.
There is a special fund set up by the US figure skating community to benefit the families of the skaters, their families and coaches lost aboard the flight.
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