Figure skating-Naumov driven by memory of late parents in emotional Olympic debut

MILAN, Feb 10 : U.S. figure skater Maxim Naumov said he felt the presence of his late parents as he made his Olympic debut on Tuesday at the Milan Cortina Games, delivering an emotional performance a little over a year after they were killed in a plane crash near Washington, D.C.

Naumov's parents were among the 67 people who died in January 2025 when an American Airlines flight collided midair with an Army helicopter.

"I felt like I was guided by them today," Naumov told reporters. 

"With every glide and step that I made on the ice, I couldn't help but feel their support. They were guiding me from one element to another," he said.

"At the end, I finished on my knees, and I didn't know if I was going to cry, smile or laugh, and all I could do was look up and say, 'Look what we just did.'"

His parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova - the 1994 world champions in pairs who later became coaches - were among 28 figure skating coaches, young athletes and parents returning from a development camp who died in the crash.

As he waited for his score, the 24-year-old from Norwood, Massachusetts, held up a childhood photo of himself holding hands with his parents as spectators at the Milano Ice Skating Arena cheered.

"It's the picture of me the first time on the ice when I was three years old. I carry them so I never, ever forget," he said.

"They're right here in my cross-body bag, so it's literally here on my chest, on my heart," he said.

"I wanted them to sit in the kiss-and-cry with me and experience the moment, look up at the scores, and just live in this moment," he added. 

"They deserve to be sat right next to me like they always have been."

HEARTFELT PERFORMANCE

Skating to Frederic Chopin's sorrowful "Nocturne No. 20," Naumov opened