US Skater Naumov Honors Late Parents in Olympic Short Program

In Milan, Italy, on February 10, 2026, American figure skater Maxim Naumov delivered an emotional performance in the men's short program at the Winter Olympics, honoring his late parents who perished in a plane crash just over a year earlier. The 24-year-old from Norwood, Massachusetts, skated a season-best routine to Frederic Chopin's Nocturne No. 20, earning a score of 85.65 and placing 14th, which qualified him for the free skate on February 13.

Naumov's parents, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were former Olympic pairs skaters who represented Russia in the 1992 and 1994 Winter Games, finishing fourth in the latter and claiming the 1994 world championship title. After moving to the United States in the late 1990s, they became prominent coaches at the Skating Club of Boston, where they founded the "Tomorrows Champions" program. The couple, married in 1995, had coached their son since childhood, fostering a family dream of seeing him compete at the Olympics. That vision became reality when Naumov secured his spot on the U.S. team by finishing third at the 2025 national championships in January.

The path to Milan was marked by profound loss. On January 29, 2025, Shishkova,...