At a Glance
- Maxim Naumov, 24, secured a spot on the 2026 U.S. Olympic men’s figure-skating team
- His parents and coaches, 1994 world pairs champions Evgenia “Zhenya” Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, died in the Jan. 29 American Airlines crash
- Naumov finished fourth at January’s U.S. Nationals days before the tragedy and nearly quit the sport
- Why it matters: His berth keeps his family’s Olympic dream alive and honors the 28 skating-community victims of the crash.
One year after American Airlines flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Army helicopter-killing his parents and 65 others-Maxim Naumov has been named to the 2026 U.S. Olympic figure-skating team.
The Announcement
At the team-selection event in St. Louis on January 11, U.S. Figure Skating unveiled its men’s roster: Naumov, Ilia Malinin, and Andrew Torgashev will represent the United States in Milan.
“We did it! God is good,” Naumov told the crowd. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family, and it’s what I’ve been thinking about since I’m 5 years old. … So I can’t say into words how much this means to me.”
He believes his parents would have mixed pride with pressure. “I really hope that my mom watched because she never used to watch me skate. But they say we’re proud of you, but job’s not finished, we’re just getting started.”
A Bittersweet Journey
Naumov’s path to the Games carries extra weight. His parents-1994 world pairs champions and his lifelong coaches-were among the 67 people who died when the aircraft plunged into the Potomac on January 29.
Three days before the team announcement, he competed in Kansas. After his short program, he broke down while clutching a childhood photo with his mom and dad.
“Sharing the vulnerability with the audience and me feeling their energy back has been something I remember for the rest of my life,” he told reporters.
The Crash That Shook Skating
Flight 5342 was carrying 28 members of the figure-skating community home from a development camp in Wichita. Naumov had also been at the camp and placed fourth at the U.S. Nationals on January 26.
In the aftermath, Russian ice-dancing legend Ekaterina “Katia” Gordeeva-who competed alongside the Naumovs at the 1994 Lillehammer Games-said a family friend had moved in to support Maxim “24 hours” a day. The friend, described as “like a godmother to him,” and her husband have stayed close.
Fighting Forward
For weeks, Naumov questioned whether continuing made sense without the two people who had guided every jump and spin. Ultimately, the goal they shared pulled him back to the ice.
“It’s the ultimate goal,” he said last week. “It’s what my parents and I-one of our last conversations was about exactly that, and you know, it would mean the world to me to do that. So that’s what we’re fighting for.”
Key Takeaways
- Maxim Naumov will make his Olympic debut in Milan, honoring a dream he and his parents discussed since childhood
- The selection caps a year of grief and determination after the crash that claimed 28 figure-skating lives
- Naumov joins Malinin and Torgashev on a men’s squad aiming to reclaim U.S. dominance in the sport
