Coach mourns Massachusetts figure skaters killed in D.C. plane crash, tells friends to "stay strong"
NORWOOD - Skaters and coaches were back on the ice at The Skating Club of Boston Friday, remembering the friends they lost in the Washington, D.C. plane crash.
"I came to the building at 6 a.m., I'm like I'm not going to cry, I'm going to be very strong," said coach Olga Ganicheva.
But Ganicheva could not hide the tears remembering fellow coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, 16-year-old skater Spencer Lane and her own student, 13-year-old Jinna Han who were killed in Wednesday's plane crash.
Especially having to walk by Jinna's now empty chair. "This empty chair, it just crushed me emotionally this morning," Ganicheva said.
At the rink in Norwood, club skaters gradually returned to their rigorous practice routines which Ganicheva said is essential to honor the family members lost.
"Just please stay strong"
"The people who died were really happy and kind," Ganicheva said. "I tell them in their memory, just please stay strong."
Skaters like Jimmy Ma offered the coach a comforting hug as people continued to place flowers at memorials to the skaters, coaches and their mothers. Spencer's mother Christine Lane and Jinna's mother Jin Han also died in the crash as they returned from National Development Camp held in connection with the recent U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
Ma, who placed fifth at the championship, says getting back on the ice Friday was nothing short of therapeutic. "All those families loved skating," Ma said. "It would tarnish their memory to feel sorry for ourselves."
Olympic potential
Ganicheva says at the age of 13, Jinna Han was already a superstar with Olympic potential. Jinna almost didn't qualify for the development camp where she was before the crash due to tendonitis. And then she did.
"She finished position, and she was crying and looked like 'thanks God. You helped me,'" Ganicheva said. "But if she will not go to this camp, she would be alive."
But it's a sentence she can barely finish, saying she has to focus herself on getting her skaters ready for upcoming competitions. "They all need to work," Ganicheva said. "I tell please, to memory of Jinna and Spencer, because they were such bright sweet kids, we just need to keep training and act like normal."
It is far from normal at the club, as skaters lend each other support between jumps and practice routines while grieving the loss of their friends.
"For such young kids they had a huge impact here, and not everybody gets to do that at the age of 13 and 16," said Doug Zeghibe CEO of The Skating Club of Boston.
A private memorial service was held at the club Friday night.
