Story By: Sol Tucker
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
It has only been one month since the tragic crash of American Airlines 5342 in the Potomac River and the loss of life has been felt around the nation and all through the figure skating community.
While many of us contribute to charity on different occasions, this event hits closer to home and giving back on a day off only made good sense. Once inside of Capital One Arena this evening, the emotion was felt deep inside and the disbelief of how this could happen on the mind. The sold-out crowd, some moved to tears, enjoyed the skating community coming together to support all of those families involved in the tragedy.
The most emotional moment of the day came as Max Naumov, whose parents Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov died on January 29, collapsed to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably after he skated to one of their favorite songs. Naumov had finished in fourth place at the national championships just days before the tragedy.
After recording artist Hayes Warner opened the program with a performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” Boitano and Yamaguchi addressed the crowd at Capital One Arena.
“As skaters, we have learned to be resilient and to always find a path forward that is positive,” Boitano said.
This is one of the best charity events we have been to in a long time. Hats off to Monumental Sports and Entertainment for putting together a first-class event for everyone effected by this tragedy.
