US figure skater whose parents were killed in DC plane crash heads to Olympics

US Figure skater Maxim Naumov, whose parents were killed in a commercial plane crash in Washington DC last year, has made the US figure skating team heading to the Milan Olympics next month.

Naumov's dream to make the US Olympic Team was one of the last things he spoke about with his parents before they were killed.

"We did it," Naumov said when asked what his parents would say if they were watching.

His parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were among 67 killed in January 2025 after an American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter mid-air in Washington DC. They were world champions in pairs figure skating in 1994 and skated for Russia.

They later moved to the US and coached at the Skating Club of Boston.

On Saturday, Naumov, 24, placed third behind Ilia Malinin and runner-up Andrew Torgashev at the US figure skating championships in St Louis.

He will now be one of 16 figure skaters representing the US in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

As Naumov was competing this week, he held a photo of himself as a child with his parents.

"I thought of them immediately," Naumov said Sunday, according to US Figure Skating. "I wish they could be here to experience it with me, but I do feel their presence, and they are with me."

Last January, his parents were among those killed after an American Airlines plane from Kansas carrying 64 people onboard collided with a military helicopter, manned by three personnel. There were no survivors.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were on their way back from Wichita, Kansas, which was hosting the 2025 US championships.

Of those on board the flight, 28 were athletes, coaches, or parents connected to US figure skating.

The Olympic figure skating competition will take place beginning on 6 February.