Evegnia Shiskova and Vadim Naumov, the 1994 World Figure Skating champions in pairs representing Russia, were among the 64 passengers killed aboard American Airlines 5342. Their son Maxim Naumov, a competitive figure skater,

Gold medalist Brian Boitano said his “heart breaks” for those impacted by the American Airlines flight 5342 crash after a memorable week in Wichita, his mother’s hometown

Among those athletes competing in Wichita are former and hopefully future Olympians, many of whom are also defending national champions.

"Several” members of U.S. Figure Skating, including athletes, coaches and family members, were on the American Airlines plane, the organization said.

After the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, some young athletes stayed a couple of additional days for further development.

The Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships air live this week from Wichita, Kansas, on NBC Sports, USA Network and Peacock. The field includes every national champion from last January: Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn, ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates and the pairs’ team of Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea.

Several members of the figure skating community have spoken out after several athletes and their families were involved in a plane crash

At least a dozen figure skaters, coaches and their family members were on the plane that crashed near Washington, D.C., including two teenage competitors and a Russian husband-and-wife coaching duo.

The skaters were returning from a training camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which took place in Wichita and finished Sunday.

The national governing body of figure skating in the U.S. confirmed the deaths of skaters and coaches in a deadly plane crash Wednesday near Washington, D.C.

Several coaches and skaters with the United States figure skating team were on the flight from Wichita to Washington, D.C., that crashed Wednesday night, according to U.S. Figure Skating. The flight is not believed to have any survivors.