In an emotional culmination of perseverance and legacy, American figure skater Maxim Naumov has clinched a spot on the US Olympic team for the Milan Winter Games, transforming profound personal tragedy into athletic triumph. The 24-year-old athlete secured his position by placing third at the US Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis this past weekend, trailing only behind champion Ilia Malinin and silver medalist Andrew Torgashev.
Naumov’s journey to Olympic qualification is shadowed by unimaginable loss. Just one year prior, in January 2025, both of his parents perished in a catastrophic mid-air collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a military helicopter over Washington DC. The tragedy claimed all 67 lives aboard both aircraft, including Naumov’s parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova—renowned pairs figure skating world champions who had represented Russia before immigrating to the United States.
The couple were returning from Wichita, Kansas, where they had been attending the 2025 US Figure Skating Championships. Among the flight’s 64 passengers were 28 individuals connected to the US figure skating community, including athletes, coaches, and family members.
Throughout his championship performance, Naumov drew strength from his parents’ memory, keeping a childhood photograph of himself with them close during competitions. “I thought of them immediately,” Naumov expressed following his victory. “I wish they could be here to experience it with me, but I do feel their presence, and they are with me.”
The skater reflected that his Olympic aspirations were among the final topics he discussed with his parents before their untimely deaths. When asked what his parents might say witnessing his achievement, Naumov simply stated: “We did it.”
Naumov will join fifteen other American figure skaters competing in the Winter Olympics, with skating events scheduled to commence on February 6th. His qualification represents not only a personal athletic achievement but a continuation of his family’s storied legacy in the sport they loved.