Ice skaters reel from US plane crash – ‘When it happens, it breaks you’

Skating at such a high level demands a huge commitment, with schoolwork being carried out online after hours on the ice each day.

Inevitably, close relationships develop among coaches and club members alike and, in the face of such a disaster, the clubhouse is a natural place to gather.

Just a few days ago, club members Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov won the US pairs title in Wichita before taking an earlier flight home.

“They were just two sunshines that you get the energy from as soon as you see them,” Efimova told me.

“Every time I would walk into this ice rink, I would see them in the morning tying their skates, saying, just saying ‘hello,’ seeing their faces lit up.”

“Spencer was a firecracker, that’s the best way to put it,” Mitrofanov added.

“He started skating fairly later than other skaters, but because of his amazing talent, he progressed so quickly.”

At the end of a hard day’s training, they told me, the two would take their skates off and head upstairs to begin catching up on academic work.

Now, in the club’s entrance, photographs capturing them in motion on the ice are surrounded by tributes and flowers. Jinna has her arms outstretched. Spencer maintains a look of deep focus on his face.

“You don’t expect it,” Mitrofanov said. “And when it happens, it breaks you.”