His parents, former world champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, died their flight crashed into a military helicopter midair and killed 67 last year.
WASHINGTON — Figure skater Max Naumov made it to the Olympics one year after his parents died when their plane crashed into a military helicopter on approach to Washington, D.C.
Naumov, 24, is the son to former world champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova and was announced Sunday as one of the men competing on Team USA at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan.
His performance Thursday earned him a 163.44 free skate score, securing his first U.S. Figure Skating Championships podium of his senior career, according to the Olympics.
He managed to hold his emotions in while performing, and a standing ovation carried him off the ice.
He did finally get emotional when in the kiss-and-cry area, named for emotional reactions after performances. He held up a photo of him at 3 years old, his parents by his side, stepping onto the ice in white skates for the first time at the International Skating Center of Connecticut.
“Sharing the vulnerability with the audience and me feeling their energy back has been something I remember for the rest of my life,” he told reporters.
Naumov was fourth at nationals a year ago, and he had returned home from Wichita on an earlier flight. His mom and dad stayed behind for the development camp and were making their own way home when the plane crash that killed 67 happened.
Of the victims, more than two dozen were returning from a development camp following the U.S. championships in Wichita, Kansas. Many were young skaters, taught by the elder Naumov and Shishkova, who looked up to their son.
One of the last conversations Naumov had with his parents was about the Olympics, and what it would take to earn a spot on the American team in Italy. His short program Thursday night, which began with a quad salchow and ended with a triple-triple combination, was good enough to briefly give him the lead, and keep him in the mix heading into Saturday’s free skate.
“My dad would have told me to keep fighting for that salchow,” Naumov told the Associated Press.
He will now join Team USA in the Winter Olympics alongside teammates Ilia Malinin and Andrew Torgashev to represent the U.S. for men’s figure skating.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.