Chills went down people’s spines when, on January 29, 2025, it was reported that American Airlines Flight 5342 had crashed with a military helicopter over the Potomac River. This became a national tragedy as it claimed the lives of 67 people. For the US figure skating community, this was heartbreaking, as the crash took away the lives of 28 members, including 11 young skaters. And the heartbreak remains even after a year.

As reported by USA Today, for coaches like Audrey Weisiger, who is a former US Olympic team coach, the crash became a personal grief, as she lost her four talented students. When asked about her bond with students like 12-year-old Brielle Beyer, she described her as “this little sprite that motored around the rink and she was unstoppable.” This was built on daily lessons and a shared dream of one day competing at the highest levels of the sport.

Weisiger then recalled 16-year-old Edward Zhou, saying, “There was something so magical about little Eddie. … He was one of those kids that everybody felt joyful around.” Her other student, who went by Cory Haynos, achieved something magnificent right before the flight.

Talking about the 16-year-old, she said, “Right before they went to (Kansas), Cory achieved his triple axel, which was unbelievable.” Similarly, Weisiger recalled a moment with 12-year-old Olivia Eve Ter, with whom she had her final lesson of that day, stating, “She was my last lesson with those kids before they went to Kansas. She said, ‘Coach Audrey, this is the biggest moment of my life, I’ve been working for so long to try and get to this camp. I’ll make you proud.’”

The families still mourn to date. Andy Beyer, father of Brielle, hosts birthday parties in his daughter’s memory. He said, “After this kind of loss, you can never experience joy in the same way that you did before. Think of Christmas morning when your family is full and complete – that’s about as pure joy as you can get, right? And it’ll never be that again. It’ll always be joy mixed with ache, with longing, with remembering who should also be here.”

Similar emotions were seen by a certain figure skating star, who also lost someone close in this terrifying crash.

Maxim Naumov lets out his emotions at the US Figure Skating Championships

Maxim Naumov felt his world shattered when he received the news that his parents, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were no longer in this world. However, while he coped with loss, he didn’t forget his goal, which was to make it to the Olympic Games.

Fast forward to 2026, at the US Figure Skating Championship, the American earned his spot with 249.16 points, which earned him a third-place finish. With this result, he was behind Andrew Torgashev with 267.62 points in second place and Ilia Malinin with 324.88 points in first place.

However, talking about his achievement, an emotional Naumov shared, “We did it. We absolutely did it. God is good. God is good.”

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He added, “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family and it’s what I’ve been thinking about since I’ve been five years old before I even know how to think or what to think. So I can’t even say in words how much this means to me.”

Following his victory, he didn’t forget those who always stood by his side during the tough times, stating, “Unbelievable. Every message, every letter, every call, every text, I see it and it helps me just keep pushing through the difficult days, getting up and going to bed. Thank you, everyone.”

Making it to the Olympic Games was not just his goal; it was shared with his parents. So, talking about his mother’s mentality, he said, “I really hope that my mom watched because she never used to watch me skate. But they say we’re proud of you, but job’s not finished. We’re just getting started.”

Now with a few days until the opening ceremony in Milano Cortina, it’s only a matter of time until we see the dominance of the US figure skating team.