Triangle figure skating community in mourning following fatal plane crash in DC

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Friday, January 31, 2025
Triangle figure skating community in mourning after deadly DC crash

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Central North Carolina has a close knit figure skating community that was rocked by a horrific tragedy on Wednesday.

A Triangle figure skating coach told ABC11 that Thursday has been a day of grieving.

The U.S Figuring Skating Association confirmed more than a dozen skaters, coaches, and family members were on the flight that went down in DC, including two world champions.

The athletes were returning from a national development camp following the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Kansas.

Triangle coach Jackie Putzsay said everyone is shaken to the core.

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"It's so... just devastating to think that a lot of these young athletes, their dreams were about to come true. Right. They reach the national stage. They've been training so hard. They had this wonderful opportunity that US Figure Skating provides with this developmental camp. And, you know, it all got taken away so tragically and so suddenly," said Putzsay.

She said everyone is leaning on each other a little harder as they try to make sense of what has happened.

"Moving forward, I know that for me as a coach, I'm definitely going to make everything the best it can be for my athletes. And I just hope that...skating means so much into their lives, and they'll be able to just take every experience and just live it to the fullest," said Putzsay.

A memorial fund was established by the U.S. Figure Skating Association. The fund started after a tragic plane crash that killed an entire U.S. figure skating team on Feb. 15, 1961. The plane, Sabena Flight 548, was carrying the team to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Along with the team, 16 family members, coaches and friends of the skaters died in the crash.

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