Maxim Naumov takes his dream to Olympics to honors his parents and those killed in airline crash

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Maxim Naumov sat silently on a chair deep inside the Enterprise Center, away from the packed crowd in the arena, the prying eyes of the TV cameras, the friends, family and strangers who had been showering him well-wishes for the better part of a year.

Naumov stared at a photograph of him standing alongside his parents, former pairs world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. It was taken when Naumov was about 3, a little tyke trying to find his footing on the ice for the first time. It had been stuck inside a photo album tucked away above the refrigerator in his Connecticut home.

Naumov’s parents, who had been coaches at the renowned Skating Club of Boston, were among 67 people killed — more than two dozen of them members of the figure skating community — when American Airlines Flight 5342 crashed into a military helicopter on approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport and fell into the icy Potomac River on January 29, 2025.

Eleven skaters, four coaches and several of their family members had been returning from a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, after the national championships. The younger Naumov had flown out earlier, shortly after finishing in fourth place.

“Once a week I try to have that space with them, in whatever capacity that might be,” Naumov said, after finishing third at this year's U.S. championships, a placement that ultimately earned him a spot on the American team for the Milan Cortina Olympics.

“It could be a photo, talking to someone about them. It could be anything," Naumov said. “It's been therapeutic in a way.”

One year later, Naumov carries the hopes and dreams of those affected by the crash with him to the Olympics, while the skating world continues to reflect on a tragedy that rocked a sport so tightly knit that everyone, from 1956 Olympic champion Tenley Albright to kids just starting out, seems to remember where they were when they heard the news.

“It was devastating. I've never been that sad,” said Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic champion. “So many promising young skaters were just gone.”

The day of the crash

Those that lost their lives had competed for clubs scattered across the eastern seaboard, from the historic Boston club that produced such stars as Olympic champion Dick Button and Nancy Kerrigan, to the revered Washington Figure Skating Club, whose home rink in Rockville, Maryland, is about a 25-minute drive from the site of the crash.

The skaters ranged in ages from 11 to 16. Some were just starting on journeys they hoped would one day lead to the Olympics, others were late-bloomers whose passion for the sport was evident in every axel and lutz they landed.

Two-time ice dance world champion Meryl Davis said, “My heart was shattered thinking of those sweet, young souls.”

Indeed, time seemed to freeze for those whose family members were aboard the plane. Those that didn't live in the area tried to get there as quickly as possible, awaiting whatever answers the National Transportation Safety Board could provide.

It soon became clear that there would be no survivors.

Naumov remembers the emotional toll of the first 24 hours. Several of his close friends were by his side, including Spencer Howe, who along with pairs teammate Emily Chan will be joining Naumov at their first Winter Games next week in Italy.

“When all that stuff was going down,” Howe recalled, “I was right there with him in Washington. We were getting updates and just trying to figure out what was going on, and the state of the situation. We just tried to do whatever we could.”

The aftermath that will linger

Naumov remembers those first weeks after the accident, when little things like getting out of bed or putting on his skates seemed impossible. “I just wanted to rot, basically,” he said, though he knew deep down that would accomplish nothing.

So, the 24-year-old Naumov joined in the organization of a benefit in Washington to honor not only those who were killed in the collision, but the firefighters and emergency personnel who responded to it. The star-studded “Legacy on Ice” featured emotional performances by the likes of 13-year-old Isabella Aparicio, whose brother, Franco, and father, Luciano, were killed. Naumov, like many in the stands that day, wiped tears from his eyes following the performance.

The benefit raised well over $1 million for the families of those affected.

“I was proud to see the way people came together as a family," said three-time world champion Ilia Malinin, the favorite to win Olympic gold who often trains out of SkateQuest in Northern Virginia with other members of the Washington Figure Skating Club.

Three weeks later, during the world championships in Boston, the crowd inside the TD Garden again was moved to tears during a heartfelt celebration of those who lost their lives. The victims' names were shown on the dasher boards, Boston’s Coro Allegro sang “Precious Lord” and some of the biggest names in figure skating reflected on what had been an emotional two months.

“We all have that same bond, this unspoken, overall connection,” said Anthony Ponomarenko, who will soon be making his Olympic debut in ice dancing . “I told Max, ‘Whatever you need, I’m there.' We had a really special heart to heart, all of us together.”

The legacy will remain

One of the last conversations that Naumov had with his parents came after his fourth-place finish at last year's nationals, just hours before they boarded American Airlines Flight 5342 to begin their trip home. It focused on what their son would need to do to follow in his parents footsteps and compete in the Olympics.

One year later, Naumov put their plan into action at the U.S. championships. He stood up from that chair inside Enterprise Center, tucked away that photo of his parents — it would reappear about 4 minutes later in the kiss-and-cry area — and proceeded to deliver the performance of his life, earning himself a place alongside Malinin and Andrew Torgashev on the podium. All three would be chosen for the powerhouse U.S. Olympic team.

“I just thought, ‘Look at what we’ve done. All the sacrifices we made. Everything we've been through,'" Naumov said.

To this day, Naumov wears around his neck a simple gold chain with a cross, which he received on his baptism day. On his finger is a white gold ring with a single diamond, which his father once wore on his pinkie and passed down to him several years ago.

They are tangible reminders of his parents. And they are going with Naumov to the Olympics.

“I mean, there's parts of life that are difficult, you know? But I think within those difficult times and moments of like, talking about this story, it's still such a privilege to share,” he said. "My intention is to share it as much as possible, because not only do my parents deserve all the praise and recognition and the fact that I wouldn’t be here without them, but also to inspire other athletes, or people in general, to know that there is a way. No matter what, there is a way.”

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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics