• Legacy on Ice Benefit event, which contains us art skating stars, paid tribute to the 67 people who died when an army helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight and crashed into the Potomac River on January 29.
• Skaters described both the difficulty of dealing with the tragedy and the feeling of social support they received from the event. Some throw tears during or after their performances.
• The intention of the event was to raise money for figurines, first respondents and all the families affected by the crash.

Maxim Naumov cried on his knees at the end of his performance honor for his parents, dried tears away as he skated the ice and held an electric light in the air as applause rained down. Amber Glenn broke down when she finished skating, and so did 13-year-old Isabella Aparicio, who appeared in memory of her brother, Franco, and their father, Luciano.

“There wasn’t a dry eye that exists everywhere,” said Pair Skater Madison Chock.

A low mumbling of crying pierced a long -lasting moment of silence as fans lit the arena with their cell phones, and riding waves of emotion through a gripping art skating Sunday in the country’s capital to remember and raise money for the victims of Midair Collision outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

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The legacy of the ICE Benefit event contained a star-studded group of some of the best American figurines of the past and present, participating to pay tribute to the 67 people who died when an army helicopter collided with an American airline flight and crashed into the Potomac River on January 29. It included 28 members of the figure skates, some of those who were lived and trained in the Washington area.

“Everyone mourns their own way, and the last month has been really challenging for many of us to just fight with the size of this loss,” said Evan Bates, who with Chock won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2022.

American icons of the sport of Kristi Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano released the show, which included performances of them such as Glenn, Johnny Weir and reigning men’s world champion Ilia Malinin, along with gripping tribute to the victims.

“We are not powerless,” Boitano said in the opening of the show. “As skaters, we learned to be resilient and always find a path forward that is positive.”

Ted Leonsis, Head of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, who staged the event with us art skating, DC Fire & EMS Foundation and Greater Washington Community Foundation, hoping to do this at Capital One Arena helps families in the healing process, as concerts and sports in Madison Square Garden did in New York in 2001 after 9/11.

“Sports can play this calling and healing role,” Leonsis said. “Our goal is to allow society to heal, kind of a collective hug for these communities, but then we want to raise a lot of money.”

The Dasher boards had 67 stars, one for each of the victims, and skaters put flowers on a rink side table with candles before they began their routines.

“We are all here to support each other, whether it was our friends who were on this flight, family members, coaches, teammates, dear,” said the Olympic Team Medalist in 2014 Jason Brown, who skates to “The Impossible Dream” by Josh Groban. “We all travel to this sport. We get to do what we love. And traveling is such a big part of what we do, so it all hits us really hard because this is just as an integral part of what we do, as well as people that we are closest to.”

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Glenn kicked things off by appearing for Andra Day’s “Rise Up” and collapsed in tears at middle ice cream when she was done. Weir, whose family moved to Newark, Delaware, when he was 12 years old for him to pursue his skating career, dedicated his performance to the members of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club, who was on the American Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, after a national development camp there co -entered with the American Figure skating championships.

“It was a very traumatic experience for me and really just devastating to me to hear when all that happened, and I really wanted something that everyone could remember as a family, like a whole community as we remember them,” Malinin said. “All our daily lives every time we step on the ice, we will always think of them. Every time we compete, they will always be in our hearts.”

Peggy Fleming, the Olympic champion in 1968, said she hopes the event “will heal and give strength to our skaters in the future.” ALYSA LIU will try to honor the memory of the lost so that she “can continue.”

“It’s still a fight and was a fight,” said Liu, who appeared to “Hero” by Mariah Carey. “Getting together and seeing everyone again has certainly been the most reassuring feeling. And that’s just because everyone knows exactly how everyone is doing.”

Ilia Malinin performs on March 2, 2025 in Washington at Legacy On Ice Event, an Art Skating to support the families and loved ones affected by January 29, 2025, Midair Collision over DC (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

41 years after winning gold at the Olympics, skating Scott Hamilton on the ice and led a prayer. “Imagine” Blared from Arena speakers during an ensemble performance, dazzled Malinin audiences with his spring-filled routine, and Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” was the soundtrack in the big final of the emotional two-plus-hour show.

“It was just a fantastic show,” said preliminary CEO Sam Auxier. “You could even see Ilia see the passion and feelings of what happened that came through in their skating.”

Among the amount of sales of over 15,000 were hundreds of first respondents and their family members. Some came from as far away as Baltimore to be part of the rescue and recovery effort.

“This was an incredibly challenging scene for the first respondents,” said DC Fire and EMS Foundation CEO Amy Mauro. “The things they witnessed are very difficult and will remain with them for a long time. This is also part of their grieving and healing process.”

In addition to being a gathering place for figurine cathers, the first respondents and all the families affected by the crash were the intention to raise money for all of them.

“We have heard from families about things like college education for young children who are in primary school today, but also things like therapy and health care they need,” said monumental president of external affairs and CEO Monica Dixon. “Each family chooses how to use these funds in the best way they choose.”

The event was broadcast live on monumental sports network and streamed at Peacock. NBC shows an Encore performance 30 March.

“That’s what we hope: We are traveling a lot of donations that way,” Leonsis said. “People are interested. The lesson in this is that for me, if you personalize something like this, you can get together and do the right things the right way.”