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The Deadly Plane Crash That Nearly Killed A Sport : NPR.
Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in myself that I don’t stop and think about the pain others might be dealing with. Like right now–the 6th anniversary of my miscarriage is approaching. I keep thinking nothing could be sadder than that.
Then I saw this story this morning. Talk about sad. My miscarriage touched very few lives, and none outside of my circle of family and friends. This plane crash touched families, friends, and fans of a sport. It affected the whole world.
I wasn’t alive when this happened. The crash was 15 years–almost to the day–before I was born. But as a figure skating fan, I knew about it. The entire United States figure skating team–athletes and coaches alike–were on board a plane heading to Prague for the 1961 world championships when the plane crashed. No one survived.
At the time, America was a figure skating powerhouse. Our atheletes were the ones to beat. Great things were expected from this particular team. Their loss was felt deeply. Out of respect for these lives lost, the figure skating world championships were cancelled that year.
In all, this crash claimed 72 lives–the figure skaters, their coaches, family members, skating judges, the crew of the plane, 29 other passengers, and one person on the ground. Fifty years later, they are still missed, still thought about, still the subject of countless “what ifs”.
And perhaps those skaters are in Heaven now, teaching my little one how to skate, spin, and jump across the ice.
