By Amy Tennery and Lori Ewing

NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) - In one of his last TikTok posts before boarding a doomed flight to Washington, 16-year-old Spencer Lane shared with his 47,000 followers a video of a silky smooth triple toe loop he nailed at U.S. National Development Camp in Wichita.

It was the sort of move that had earned him his crown as U.S. figure skating's 2025 intermediate sectionals champion, making him one of the top prospects in the sport.

As the personalities and ambitions of the young athletes killed on the flight that crashed in Washington came into clearer focus, the close-knit community of American figure skating mourned the loss of its future stars.

"These Olympic hopefuls represented the bright future of Team USA, embodying the very essence of what it means to represent our country - perseverance, resilience, and hope," United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said in a statement.

"They were remarkable young people and talents, passionately pursuing their dreams, and they will forever hold a cherished place in Team USA family."

Lane, whose mother was also on the flight, had taken up figure skating just three years ago after watching Nathan Chen win Olympic gold in 2022, and was already widely liked and admired across the sport.

Doug Zeghibe, the executive director of the Skating Club of Boston, where he trained, described him as "highly talented, incredibly talented. He had not been skating that long and was rocketing to the top of the sport."

Thirteen-year-old Jinna Han also trained at the Boston club. She was fourth in novice women at the Eastern sectionals. Her mother was also on board.

Skating sisters Everly and Alydia Livingston, 11 and 14, died in the crash with their parents Donna and Peter.

It is not the first time the tight-knit community has been rocked by tragedy. In 1961, the entire U.S. team of 18 skaters as well as several coaches and others died when a flight crashed taking them to Europe for the World Championships.

Among them were nine-times U.S. champion Maribel Vinson-Owen and her two champion daughters Maribel and Laurence Owen. Laurence, fresh from capturing gold at the U.S. championships at the age of 16, had appeared two days earlier on the cover of Sports Illustrated, smiling in a red skating dress. Her older sister had recently won the pairs title.

On Thursday retired U.S. Olympian Nancy Kerrigan headed to the Skating Club of Boston -- her home club -- to offer her support.

"I'm not sure how to process it, which is why I'm here," Kerrigan said as she struggled to fight back tears. "We just wanted to be here and be part of our community."

Another famed alumnus from the Boston club was double Olympic gold medalist-turned-broadcaster Dick Button, who also died on Thursday at the age of 95, unrelated to the crash.

"The two-time Olympic champion's pioneering style and award-winning television commentary revolutionized figure skating," U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement. "His legacy will live on forever."

(Reporting by Amy Tennery and Lori EwingEditing by Peter Graff)

((Amy.Tennery@thomsonreuters.com; 917-361-8594;))