Figure skater whose parents died in D.C. plane crash brings world championships crowd to its feet
Maxim Naumov's performance at the world championships, just months after a plane crash claimed his parents' lives, brought the crowd to its feet.
BOSTON — Maxim Naumov came to a stop in the middle of the ice, looked up at the sky and patted his heart. Then he mouthed a few words, in Russian, to his parents:
“This is for you guys. You guys are with me. I love you both.”
Former world pairs champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova died in January when their plane collided with a military helicopter on approach to Washington, D.C., and fell into the icy Potomac River. A total of 67 people were killed, including more than two dozen who were returning from a development camp following the U.S. figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas.
Maxim Naumov, who finished fourth at nationals, already had returned home. Since the crash, he has become in many ways the face of the tragedy — or at least its effect on the skating community.
“I don’t think I’ve walked through a hallway and haven’t given a hug since. And I feel that support and love,” he said Sunday. “It’s been beyond anything that I could have ever even imagined. And it helps so much to get through this day."
Rating: 5