INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian figure skaters including world champion couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the 1994 pairs title, were on board a
United States passenger jet that crashed in Washington on Wednesday, Russian state news agencies reported.The plane carrying 60 passengers
and four crew collided midair with a military helicopter as it was approaching Reagan National Airport on Wednesday evening, plunging into
Kansas.Shishkova, 52, and Naumov, 55, competed at six world championships between 1991 to 1996, winning gold, silver and bronze medals.The
peak of their career was winning the 1994 pairs title at the world championships in Chiba, Japan.The couple, who married in 1995, ended
their careers after failing to qualify for the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998.After becoming professionals, they moved to the United States
to become coaches, first in Connecticut then in Boston since 2017.Their 23-year-old son Maxim Naumov, the United States junior champion in
2020, had recently placed fourth in the United States national championships in Kansas.Russia's Figure Skating Federation said it was
"shocked and deeply saddened by the tragedy.""Some of them were our compatriots and in their time made a significant contribution to
domestic figure skating," it said, without naming any of the victims.Several members of the United States figure skating community were
also passengers, the sport's national governing body confirmed.They had been taking part in a training camp for top juniors that was held
after the United States championships, which took place in Wichita, Kansas, at the weekend.AFP contributed reporting.
