Nancy Kerrigan at a press conference at The Skating Club of Boston.Photo:Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty
Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty
Olympian Nancy Kerrigan is mourningthose killedon American Airlines Flight 5342, especially the athletes that represented her home club: The Skating Club of Boston.
The skater, 55, visited the club’s rink in Norwood, Mass., on Thursday, Jan. 30, after learning about thedeadly crashthat occurred between the commercial plane and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night.
“I told them, I have to be around you guys,” Kerrigan told PEOPLE exclusively. “I needed the community, the support. It’s okay to ask for help and to be there for one another.”
At least six passengers were affiliated with the Skating Club of Boston: coaches andformer world pairs champions Evgenia Shiskova and her husband Vadim Naumov; skaterSpencer Laneand his mother Christine; and skater Jinna Han and her mother Jin.
Skaters from other clubs, includingsisters Everly and Alydia Livingston, also perished in the crash.
“I had to be here,” she told PEOPLE after a long day of speaking with other skaters and their families. “This really hits home. The skating community has been through tragedy before.”
Kerrigan was referring to the 1961 Sabena Flight 548 crash that killed all 18 members of the U.S. figure skating team en route to the world championships in Prague. U.S. Figure Skating, the governing body of the sport, established amemorial fundto help up-and-coming skaters with their training expenses.
Kerrigan alsoremembered the victimswhile speaking to reporters outside the Skating Club of Boston on Thursday. She became emotional while sharing that she’s “not sure how to process” the devastating loss. “I just wanted to be here and be part of our community.”
The athletes and coaches killed on American Airlines Flight 5342 were returning home from a development camp following the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships held the previous week.
“Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy,” wrote CEO Doug Zeghibe on X. “We are devastated and completely at a loss for words.”
In a statement, Lane’s family said the 16-year-old “truly loved” the sport.
Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lilehammer.Jerome Prevost/TempSport/Corbis/VCG via Getty
Jerome Prevost/TempSport/Corbis/VCG via Getty
Kerrigan represented The Skating Club of Boston throughout her eligible career. She won the bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville and the silver medal at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer.
Other famous club alumni include Dr. Tenley Albright, the first American woman to win a gold medal in figure skating at the Olympics, two-time Olympic champion Dick Button, who died on Thursday, and 1992 Olympic silver medalist Paul Wylie.
source: people.com
