Cory Haynos was the toast of the U.S. National Development Camp just hours before he was killed when American Airlines flight 5342 crashed into the Potomac River.
Haynos, 16, was one of roughly 40 skaters who was invited to participate in a special training session at the camp on Wednesday, January 29, a showcase for the brightest young skaters the country has to offer.
During the session, Haynos impressively hit a triple axel, one of figure skating’s most difficult jumps, in front of the esteemed panel of coaches.
“I’d been watching him work on it all week, just fighting to do it,” Mark Mitchell, one of the coaches at the camp, told The New York Times on Thursday, January 30. “So when I saw him, I just said, ‘Oh my gosh! Cory just landed the triple axel!’ And he was so happy, just so happy.”
Mitchell said the “level of excitement was off the charts” at the camp, which concluded the same day Cory and his parents, Roger and Stephanie Haynos, all died in the plane crash that also took the life of at least 13 other figure skaters.
Cory was a member of the Skating Club of Northern Virginia, who mourned the loss of the figure skaters on Thursday.
“This heartbreaking accident has shaken the local skating community in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia — as well as in Boston and across the nation,” the Club wrote via Instagram.
The Skating Club of Boston also lost six members of their community in the plane crash, including 16-year-old figure skaters Spencer Lane and Jinna Han.
“Our hearts go out to families, friends and loved ones mourning this unimaginable grief,” the Skating Club of Northern Virginia’s post continued. “As we continue to process this tragedy, we honor the memories of those we have lost — their passion for the sport, the friendships they cultivated and the joy they brought to the ice. Their presence at our rinks and in our community is deeply felt, and their absence is indescribable.”
In a Facebook post on Thursday shared by Roger’s cousin Matthew Alan LaRaviere, Cory’s father was remembered as a man with “absolute love for his family and dedication to providing only the best for his wife and kids.”
“Roger and his wife died flying home with their son from the US Ice Skating Championships in Kansas,” the post read. “Cory was an amazing skater with a very bright future with the US Skating Team. Recently in a conversation with Roger, he was excited about his son’s future and seemed honored that my wife and I were planning to travel north to see Cory perform. We all were expecting Cory to represent our country in the US Olympics in the future.”
In total, 67 people died in Wednesday’s plane crash, including the aforementioned figure skaters.
