Malinin headlines US figure skating team for Milano Cortina, Naumov gets nod

Jan 11 : Ilia Malinin ‌unsurprisingly headlined the U.S. Olympic figure skating team that was announced on Sunday and included Maxim Naumov, whose parents died last January in a midair plane crash that devastated the figure skating community.

Malinin, who was left off the Olympic team four years ago when compatriot Nathan Chen won gold, is a red-hot favourite for gold at the Milano Cortina Games next month having won every competition he has entered since the 2023 Grand Prix Final.

The 21-year-old Virginia native's most recent triumph came on Saturday in St. Louis when ‌he cruised to a fourth consecutive national title at the U.S. Figure Skating ‌Championships.

“It’s such an amazing feeling. I worked so hard, especially after those 2022 nationals," said Malinin. "It has such a huge meaning for me, being able to go there and follow in my parents’ footsteps, being two-time Olympians. It’s such an honor and I’m so excited for that experience.”

Naumov finished third behind Malinin and Andrew Torgashev on Saturday. Torgashev also made the team.

The 24-year-old Naumov was competing with a heavy heart in St. Louis where, after Thursday's short programme, ‍he held up and kissed a picture of himself as a child holding hands with his parents.

He was asked what he had thought about after being named to the team.

“My parents, what we talked about and how much we discussed this through my entire life, and how much it means to us, and how much the Olympics is part of our ​family," said Naumov. "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.”

Former world figure skating pairs champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova died when ​a plane carrying some of