Nearly a year after Maxim Naumov spoke with his parents about what it would take to join them as an Olympian in figure skating, a conversation that would be one of his last with his parents before their tragic deathsNaumov made that dream come true Sunday when he was named to the U.S. figure skating team headed to the Winter Olympics.
Naumov, 24, was one of 16 skaters selected to the U.S. Olympic team following the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis after finishing third Saturday behind U.S. champion Ilia Malinin and runner-up Andrew Torgashev.
Naumov’s parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were world champions in pairs figure skating in 1994, the year they competed in their second Winter Olympics, representing Russia. They moved to the United States in 1998 to coach the Skating Club of Boston. This past January, at the 2025 U.S. Championships, in Wichita, Kansas, Naumov finished fourth on Jan. 26 and left Wichita on a flight shortly after.
His parents stayed longer to attend a development camp. On the way home, their American Airlines flight to Washington collided in mid-air with a military helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington. The accident killed 67 people, including 28 athletes, coaches or parents linked to American figure skating.
During this week’s championships, Naumov held up a photo showing him as a child on skates, holding his parents’ hands, after his routine.
“I immediately thought of them,” Naumov said Sunday, according to US Figure Skating. “I wish they could be here to experience it with me, but I feel their presence and they are with me.”
The Olympic figure skating competition will take place from February 6 to 19 in Milan. The U.S. title was Malinin’s fourth consecutive title, and he will enter the Olympics as the favorite to win gold.
“I came to this competition thinking how grateful I am for having the ability to compete and for the fact that I overcame so much,” Naumov told reporters on Saturday. “Looking back, even though I wasn’t able to lace up my skates and I didn’t know if I was going to compete, let alone skate, which I did (Saturday), I don’t even have the words, honestly, about what I had to overcome to be here.
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Andrew Greif is a sports reporter for NBC News Digital.
