Defending World Figure Skating champion Ilya Malinin of Northern Virginia fondly recalled his interactions with some of the young figure skaters who died in the tragic January 29 plane crash following his passionate performance in front of a sellout crowd at the Capital One Arena in D.

A star-studded group of some of the best U.S. figure skaters of the past and present took the ice in the nation's capital to remember and raise money for the victims of the midair collision outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

At the end of his figure skating performance, when the last note of his parents’ favorite song played in an arena packed with spectators and heavy with sorrow, Maxim Naumov dropped to his knees at the center of the ice. He remained there for what seemed like forever, awash in a spotlight, looking lost and sobbing.