Maxim Naumov
Brings Mother and father’ Reminiscence To Olympic Stage
With Highly effective Tribute
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Maxim Naumov turned his Olympic debut into a strong tribute … honoring his late mother and father whereas competing on the most important stage of his life.
The 24-year-old Staff USA determine skater lastly lived out the dream he as soon as shared along with his mother and pop — stepping onto Olympic ice on Tuesday whereas carrying their reminiscence with him each step of the way in which.
Naumov arrived on the Olympics with much more on his shoulders than simply medals and scores almost a yr after dropping his mother and father, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova. They had been amongst 67 individuals who misplaced their lives when a United States Military Black Hawk helicopter collided mid-air with an American Airways jet close to Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport on January 29, 2025.
And he delivered.
Naumov skated with emotion and precision in his Olympic brief program, posting a season-best 85.65 — then introduced a photograph of his mother and father into the kiss-and-cry … the identical image of him stepping onto the ice as a child that’s adopted him all through the season.
These near the skating world say the Olympics represented the final word shared objective for the Naumov household — one Maxim by no means imagined reaching with out his mother and father by his aspect.
After incomes his Olympic spot on the U.S. Determine Skating Championships, Naumov made it clear that resilience has been his driving power by way of grief, strain and doubt.
“What if — regardless of all the pieces that occurred — I can nonetheless go on the market and do it?” he stated earlier this seasonexplaining the mindset that carried him all the way in which to the Video games.
Now, skating underneath the Olympic highlight, Naumov isn’t simply competing for Staff USA — he’s skating for household, legacy and proving that even after unimaginable loss, goals can nonetheless survive.