Meet US figure skating star Maxim Naumov, whose parents died in a plane crash last year
From tragedy to triumph: Maxim honoured his parents Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, both champion figure skaters from Russia, after earning his Team USA jacket
Naumov, 24, who lost his parents – Olympian figure skaters Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova – in the tragic 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision a year ago, honoured his parents after earning his Team USA jacket.
According to the US Figure Skating website, Naumov shared that the Olympics are “part of [his] family” and he thought of his late parents immediately after clinching his spot on the Olympic team. “I wish they could be here to experience it with me, but I do feel their presence, and they are with me,” he added.
Previously, at the 2026 US Figure Skating Championships, where he won bronze in men’s singles, Naumov held up a family photo in remembrance of his parents after completing his first round and receiving a high score.
Keep reading to learn more about Maxim Naumov.
His parents’ achievements
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova are Russian figure skaters who won gold at the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships in pairs skating. They were also winners at the 1995-96 Grand Prix Final. At the Winter Olympics, they represented Russia in 1992 and 1994. The pair tied the knot in 1995 and moved to the US, where they coached budding figure skaters at the International Skating Centre of Connecticut and the Skating Club of Boston. They also guided their son in the sport. The couple founded the Skating Club of Boston’s Tomorrow’s Champions skating school, of which their son is now the director.