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American figure skater Maxim Naumov delivered a moving performance in his Olympic debut on Tuesday, in tribute to his late parents who died in a tragic plane crash last year.
There wasn’t a dry eye at the Milan ice rink Tuesday night, as Naumov fulfilled a dream he had alongside his parents, former world pairs champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who were among the 67 people killed when a military helicopter collided mid-flight on American Airlines Flight 5342 to Washington DC in January 2025.
Naumov, 24, was expected to fall far short of a top-10 finish at this year’s Olympics, let alone a medal. But he put on quite a show that culminated in a full ovation, as he looked up to the sky and said, “Look what we did,” according to ESPN.
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Maxim Naumov of Team USA reacts after competing in the men’s singles skating short program on the fourth day of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Ice Rink in Milan, Italy, February 10, 2026. (Matthieu Stockman/Getty Images)
“I didn’t know if I was going to cry, smile or laugh,” Naumov said after his short program earned him a score of 85.65, good for 12th place and qualification for the next round.
Naumov skated to “Nocturne No. 20” and he couldn’t have been happier with his performance, knowing that his parents were with him in spirit.
FIGURE SKATER MAXIM NAUMOV MAKES US OLYMPIC TEAM ONE YEAR AFTER LOST BOTH PARENTS IN TRAGIC D.C. PLANE CRASH
“I’ve been inspired by them since day one, since we walked on the ice together,” Naumov, who held an old photo of him and his parents on the ice together in the kissing and crying zone after dedicating his performance to them.
Naumov’s parents were among a contingent of American figure skaters, coaches and family members who tragically died from the accident after leaving a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, following the 2025 national championships. Naumov was on a previous flight.
Maxim Naumov of Team USA competes in the men’s singles skating short program during day four of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, February 10, 2026. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Three days before being named to the U.S. Olympic team, Naumov was emotional after skating in their honor at the U.S. Championships, where he held up the same image of himself as a 3-year-old boy with his parents on either side of him.
“Sharing the vulnerability with the crowd and feeling their energy come back is something I will remember for the rest of my life,” Naumov told reporters after his skate that solidified his place on the U.S. team. “This is what my parents and I – one of our last conversations was about exactly this, and you know, it would mean the world to me to do this. This is what we’re fighting for.”
As he took the ice, Naumov said being too technical about his performance wasn’t a good idea.
His level of effort was all that mattered, regardless of the outcome.
American Maxim Naumov holds a photo of his parents, who died in a plane crash last year, after competing in the men’s singles figure skating short program during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Milan Ice Rink, in Milan, February 10, 2026. Naumov’s parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, died after a mid-air collision between an American Airlines plane and a US Army helicopter in Washington DC on January 29. 2025. (WANG Zhao / AFP)
“I didn’t think I would execute anything perfectly or anything like that. I wanted to go out there and give it my all. Leave it all out there. Have no regrets. And that’s exactly how I felt,” he said, according to ESPN.
Naumov will perform again in the men’s free skate Friday evening.
