MILAN — After Maxim Naumov finished in fourth place at the 2025 U.S. figure skating championships for the third straight year, his father, Vadim, wanted to game plan.
Vadim and Maxim’s mother, Evgenia Shishkova, were two-time Olympic pair skaters for Russia, and they knew Maxim’s upcoming year was critical with the 2026 Winter Olympics on the horizon.
The patriarch laid out the plan for the rest of the season. It was time to change the mindset and approach. Get more consistent and be resilient. He detailed what they were going to do, how they would do it and when it would happen. It was an emotional, productive 45-minute conversation.
It ended up being one of the last conversations they had together.
A few days later, Vadim and Shishkova were among the 67 people killed in the midair collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C. They were among the 28 figure skating coaches, young athletes and parents who were returning from a development camp. An unimaginable tragedy, and Naumov didn’t know if he could skate anymore.
“All I wanted to do in that moment was to lay in my bed or lay on my couch and just rot, essentially,” Naumov said.
He contemplated what to do. After a few months, he decided to go back on the ice. He wanted to compete in the 2025-26 season.
His main support system and coaches no longer with him, he had to start from scratch. How can someone overcome such a loss?
He remembered his dad’s words: Be resilient.
Naumov persisted. Now, he is representing the U.S. in the 2026 Winter Olympics. It’s been a whirlwind of a year, but in Milano Cortina, the 24-year-old from Norwood, Massachusetts, will fulfill a family dream that began when he was 5 years old. He is carrying the memory, love and guidance of his parents with him along the way.
Getting back to skating
Naumov didn’t compete until eight months after the collision. He finished ninth in the 2025 Lombardia Trophy event, and was in the same spot at the Grand Prix de France. Then, he got a big boost by winning the 2025 Ice Challenge, his first senior level first-place finish.
It gave him some confidence going into the 2026 U.S. Championships with Olympic spots up for grabs. Ilia Malinin was already a lock to make the squad, and Naumov was in the conversation for one of the final two sports, but was not a favorite.
Everyone at the nationals knew his story, and wanted him to succeed. It’s why there was a resounding cheer when he took the ice for warm-ups for the short program. That night, he delivered an emotional performance. And although he admitted it wasn’t perfect, it was clean and Naumov earned a standing ovation.
When he got off the ice, he held up a photo of him, around 3 years old, holding hands with his mom and dad in one of his first times on ice with skates. He gave the photo a kiss, and broke down in tears when he got a score that put him in first place for the moment.
“I really just wanted them to be present in the Kiss and Cry,’ he said. ‘I mean, that’s such an important moment.’
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He ended up being in fourth place heading into the free skate, giving him a shot to not only finish in the top three, but also make the Olympic team.
Naumov brought multiple photos of his parents with him to nationals, and the night before the free skate, he grabbed one and sat in a chair with it for nearly 20 minutes. It was a moment to connect with his parents before one of the biggest nights of his life.
“To just be like, ‘Look how far we’ve come. Look what we’ve done, look at all the sacrifices we made.’ Everything that we’ve been through, everything that we’ve planned, all coming to fruition, and tomorrow’s the day to get it,” he said. “It was an emotional night for me.”
Naumov needed a strong outing in the free skate. Although he did what he needed, he was behind Andrew Trogashev with three skaters left. Then everything unraveled for everyone else. Jason Brown, a presumed Olympic favorite, had a disastrous outing that killed his chances. Tomoki Hiwatashi, who was in second, struggled. Naumov was guaranteed a top three finish – and hours away from his dream.
“I needed to have a moment to myself. I took a step away, and just sobbed. Like I just bawled my eyes out,” he said.
He felt like he gave everything he could to earn his Olympic spot — and it came to fruition, Naumov making the squad alongside Malinin and Torgashev.
This year, U.S. Figure Skating told skaters in person that they made the Olympic team, so it was made even sweeter when USFS chief high performance officer Justin Dillon got to deliver the news.
“For Max, I know that this has been a year where he’s really worked towards having that dream come true,” Dillon said. “There’s many memories I’m going to have sharing the selection of people named to the team.”
Telling the story ‘until I literally can’t talk about it anymore’
Naumov has brought several memories of his parents with him to Milan. He said he tries to delegate 30 minutes to an hour every week to just have some space and connect with them again. It will be just more than a year since the crash when Naumov takes the ice for the short program on Feb. 10 and the free skate on Feb. 12.
Being on the world stage, Naumov knows he’s going to be asked about his parents over and over. It could be annoying or upsetting to talk about it that much. It could be painful, having to relive and be reminded of what happened. But that’s not the case for Naumov.
Yes, there are parts that are difficult to talk about. But, ultimately, Naumov views it as a privilege. He wants people to be moved by his story, planning to share it until he no longer can.
“It’s truly a blessing to have the opportunity to share this story … It has to be like my voice giving out until I literally can’t talk about it anymore,” he said. “My intention is to share it as much as possible, because not only do they deserve all of the praise and recognition – and the fact that I wouldn’t be here without them – but also just to inspire like other athletes or other people in general.”
Naumov’s programs will be emotionally charged and will hit the heart of the audience. As Torgashev said, you can see Naumov “fighting for everything, heart on his sleeve, just pouring blood, sweat and tears into every performance.”
The year began with loss, and ends with living the dream his parents hoped for their son. And it all started with that last conversation with mom and dad.
“All the sacrifices and time and dedication that my parents and I spent together on this dream,” Naumov said. “We really truly did it together.”
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