In just a few days, the Legacy on Ice concert will bring U.S. figure skating champions to Washington, D.C., to perform and raise money for the families of the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) crash victims.
2024 World Championship skater Ilia Malinin, from Reston, Virginia, will be one of the performers -- and for him, the show at Capital One Arena is personal.
Malinin has soared across the ice to perform countless times before. But Sunday's show will be different.
"It's definitely an emotional moment for us," Malinin said. "It's very heartbreaking for all of us in the skating community that this happened."
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Malinin lost several friends in the deadly American Airlines collision. He was also in Wichita, Kansas, at the figure skating championship that so many passengers on the plane were attending. He won his third straight national title there.
Malinin then flew back to DCA several days before the crash happened.
The day of the crash was heartbreaking for the figure skating community, where Malinin says friends become family.
"They looked up to me as their role model, and it's very heartbreaking to see that I wouldn't be able to see them anymore," he said. "I still can't really process the thoughts and emotions of them not being here anymore."
On Sunday, Malinin will join other skating stars to perform in Legacy on Ice in Downtown D.C. The goal of the show is to raise money for first responders, and for victims' families.
"We want to continue this sport and want to continue to grow, just for them," Malinin said. "Really skate for them and really keep them in our heads all the time, and just really think of them when we're on the ice."
