On Tuesday night, U.S. figure skater Maxim Naumov skated with the cherished memory of his late parents at the Milan Cortina Olympics, delivering a moving and heartfelt short program that fulfilled a dream they had all shared.

Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who were once world champions in pairs figure skating, tragically lost their lives when American Airlines Flight 5342 crashed into a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport, subsequently plunging into the icy Potomac River on January 29, 2025. Among the 67 victims were more than two dozen figure skating community members.

Naumov’s last conversations with his parents revolved around what it would take for him to reach the Olympics.

“They have been my inspiration from day one, ever since we first stepped onto the ice together,” Naumov shared. He brought an old photograph to the kiss-and-cry area at the Milano Ice Skating Arena. It captured a young Naumov standing between his parents, all smiles, as he took his first steps on the ice.

“It’s not about thinking of them specifically,” Naumov explained, “but feeling their presence. With every glide and step I took on the ice, I felt their support, almost as if I were a chess piece being guided across a board.”

This heartfelt performance became one of the most uplifting stories of the Winter Games, adding an extra layer of emotion and significance to the event.

While a long shot to make the top 10 at the Olympics, much less land on the podium, the 24-year-old Naumov nevertheless had one of the best short programs of his career. He opened with a quad salchow as his godmother, Gretta Bogdan, watched from the stands, and he followed up with a triple axel and a triple lutz-triple toe loop to finish out the program.

As the last notes of “Nocturne No. 20” by Frederic Chopin reverberated through the arena, and the crowd rose to its feet, Naumov slid to a stop on his knees and looked to the sky, telling his parents: “Look at what we’ve done.”

“I didn’t know if I was going to cry, smile or laugh,” he said afterward, “and all I could do was look up at them. And man, I still can’t believe what just happened. I think it’s going to take me a few hours or maybe a few weeks to know.”

The plane carrying Naumov’s parents also had aboard 11 young skaters, two other coaches and several family members who had been attending a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, following the 2025 national championships.

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