Figure skater Maxim Naumov made his dream come true when he made the U.S. Olympic team Sunday … but the accomplishment was bittersweet, as it came one year after losing his parents to a catastrophic plane crash.
Naumov grew up following in his parents’ footsteps … Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, competed for Russia, becoming world champions in pairs figure skating in 1994.
Wanting the best for their son, they shared advice and talked to him about what it would take for him to join them in Olympic glory while supporting him last year at the 2025 U.S. championships in Wichita, Kansas.
But on the way home, Vadim and Evgenia’s flight reportedly collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River, which killed 67 people … many of them connected to U.S. figure skating.
Naumov told U.S. Figure Skating Sunday, “I thought of them immediately. I wish they could be here to experience it with me, but I do feel their presence, and they are with me.”
The 24-year-old athlete was reportedly one of 16 skaters selected for the team.
The competition will take place February 6-19 in Milan.
