Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were a Russian figure skating pair who competed in multiple Olympic Games and medaled in multiple world championships.
The Kremlin said Thursday the figure skating stars were among those aboard an American Airlines flight that collided with a U.S. Army helicopter near Reagan International Airport on Wednesday night.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Shishkova and Naumov were on the plane.
“Unfortunately, we see that this sad information is being confirmed. There were other fellow citizens there. Bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash,” he said.
It was Naumov’s coach who introduced the pair in 1985, wanting them to work together despite Naumov rebuffing the idea at first. They began to work together in 1987 and competed and won bronze in the 1991 European Championships while representing the former Soviet Union. The pair would go on to win two more bronze and silver medals in the event.
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Shishkova and Naumov earned accolades on the world stage as well. At the 1993 World Championships, the two earned a bronze medal. The following year in Chiba, Japan, the two picked up their first gold medal. They finished with a silver in 1995 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The pair competed in the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, and the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. They finished in fifth in 1992 and fourth in 1994.
Shishkova and Naumov married in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1995, and they moved to Connecticut. They had a son, Maxim, who competed in men’s singles in the U.S.
The Russian pair were listed as professional pairs coaches on the Skating Club of Boston’s website.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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