The Legacy on Ice benefit event, featuring U.S. figure skating stars, payed tribute to the 67 people who died when an Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight and crashed into the Potomac River on Jan. 29.Skaters described both the difficulty of dealing with the tragedy and the feeling of community support they got from the event. Some shed tears during or after their performances.The intent of the event was to raise money for figure skaters, first responders and all the families affected by the crash.Maxim Naumov wept on his knees at the end of his performance honoring his parents, wiped away tears as he skated off the ice and held an electric candle in the air as applause rained down. Amber Glenn broke down when she finished skating, and so did 13-year-old Isabella Aparicio, who was performing in memory of her brother, Franco, and their father, Luciano.”There was not a dry eye to be found anywhere,” pairs skater Madison Chock said.A low murmur of crying pierced a lengthy moment of silence as fans lit the arena with their cellphones, riding waves of emotion through a poignant figure skating show Sunday in the nation’s capital to remember and raise money for the victims of the midair collision outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.DC PLANE CRASH: VICTIM’S FAMILY SEEKS $250 MILLION IN FIRST LEGAL ACTION SINCE DEADLY COLLISIONThe Legacy on Ice benefit event featured a star-studded group of some of the best U.S. figure skaters of the past and present taking part to pay tribute to the 67 people who died when an Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight and crashed into the Potomac River on Jan. 29. That included 28 members of the figure skating community, some of whom lived and trained in the Washington area.”Everyone grieves in their own way, and the last month has been really challenging for a lot of us to just grapple with the magnitude of this loss,” said Evan Bates, who with Chock won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2022. “I think coming together today and doing something tangible like a show will give people, hopefully, a little glimmer of hope and a little light for that next step forward.”American icons of the sport Kristi Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano emceed the show, which included performances by the likes of Glenn, Johnny Weir and reigning men’s world champion Ilia Malinin, along with poignant tributes to the victims.”We are not powerless,” Boitano said in opening the show. “As skaters, we learned to be resilient and to always find a path forward that is positive.”Ted Leonsis, head of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which staged the event along with U.S. Figure Skating, DC Fire & EMS Foundation and the Greater Washington Community Foundation, hopes doing this at Capital One Arena helps families in the healing process the way concerts and sports at Madison Square Garden did in New York in 2001 after 9/11.”Sports can play this convening and healing role,” Leonsis said. “Our goal is to allow t
Legendary figure skaters unite for a heartfelt event to support the victims of the plane crash in Washington, D.C.
