Nancy Kerrigan spoke during an emotional press conference Thursday after six people related to the skating club where she competed died in a tragedy of the airline near Reagan International Airport near Washington, DC
Kerrigan is one of the decorated members of the Boston skating club, with Dick Button, Tenley Albright and Paul Wylie.
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Former Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan, on the right, is adopted when arriving at the Boston skating club with its compatriot Olympic patina Tenley Albright, on the left, Thursday January 30, 2025, in Norwood, Mass. (AP photo / Charles Krupa)
The Olympic silver medalist fought through tears when she spoke to journalists. Albright stood next to Kerrigan.
“Just as everyone here said, I don’t know how to treat it,” she said, adding that her husband, who is her agent, did not stop calling interviews. “I didn’t have the impression that it was just to be at home and do interviews for that … We just wanted to be here and be part of our community.”
The Boston skating club identified Jinna Han and Spencer Lane as the two athletes who were killed in the accident. Their mothers and two coaches were also identified as victims.
“I have never seen anyone like to skate as much as these two, and that is why I think it hurts so much … whenever I could be here and watch them grow, the children here work really hard. Parents work hard to be here, but I feel for athletes, their skaters, their families, all those who were on this plane, not only for skaters, because it is just such a tragic event.
Live updates: the military helicopter collided with planes near Reagan National Airport
The bodies are on the ground next to emergency vehicles, near the accident site after the American Eagle 5342 flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac river, outside Washington, United States, January 30, 2025. (Carlos Barria / Reuters)
“We have already crossed tragedies as a lovely personics, and we are strong, and I suppose that is how we answer it, and my answer is to be with the people who care because I needed support. So that’s why I’m here. “
Kerrigan hoped that families would find the courage and the strength to take the next steps.
The CEO of the Boston skating club, Doug Zeghibe, added that Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, and Jin Han, Jinna’s mother, and Molly Lane, Spencer’s mother, had been identified like the other victims. He announced it in a statement earlier during the day.
“Our sport and this club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy,” Zeghibe said in a statement published on social networks. “Skating is a united community where parents and children meet six over seven days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like the family. Skaters, coaches and parents on the plane, We believe that six came from the Boston skating club.
Emergency intervention units respond to the site of the American Airlines aircraft accident and a Black Hawk helicopter on the Potomac river in Arlington, Virginia, Thursday, January 30, 2025. The commercial flight from Wichita, Kansas collided with a military helicopter last night. (Leigh Green for PK Press Club Digital.)
“These athletes, coaches, parents returned from the US Fix Skating National Development Camp, after last week’s American championships in Wichita. This camp is for young competition skaters of tomorrow with the promise of being a champion of tomorrow.
