Maxim Naumov Honors Parents Who Were Killed in Plane Crash During Emotional Olympic Debut
Figure skater Maxim Naumov had much of the crowd in tears when he made his Olympic debut one year after losing both of his parents in a plane crash over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
Naumov’s mother, Evgenia Shishkova, and father, Vadim Naumov, also Olympic figure skaters, were on board American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a U.S. Army helicopter on Jan. 29, 2025, killing everyone on board both aircraft.
Many of the passengers onboard the flight that evening were members of the figure skating community who were headed home after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships concluded in Wichita, Kansas. The flight was less than a minute away from landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when the collision occurred.
After he completed his routine in the men’s single figure skating short program on Feb. 10, Naumov was on his knees, put his head back toward the sky, and said, “Look what we just did.”
He then held up a childhood photograph of himself with his parents as his score was read aloud. He posted a qualifying score of 85.65 as the Milano Figure Skating Arena erupted in applause, with many of those in attendance standing and cheering loudly for him.
