Maxim Naumov stopped 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. You’re with me. I love you both.”
Naumov lost both of his parents—1994 world pairs champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova—just two months ago, when their plane collided midair with a military helicopter on its way to Washington, and plunged into the icy Potomac River.
The Jan. 29 crash claimed 67 lives, including three military service members and more than two dozen members of the skating community—young talent and their coaches who were returning from a development camp following the U.S. figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas.
Maxim Naumov had already taken a plane home a few days earlier after finishing fourth at the nationals. This twist of fate has now made him somewhat of a symbol of the tragedy’s impact on the skating world.
“I don’t think I’ve walked through a hallway and haven’t given a hug since. And I feel that support and love,” the 23-year-old said Sunday. “It’s been beyond anything that I could have ever even imagined. And it helps so much to get through this day.
“It’s overwhelming,” he said. “But it makes my heart so full.”
Earlier this month, Naumov participated in a benefit in Washington that raised more than $1.2 million for the victims' families.
After his performance at the world championships gala on Sunday, Naumov shared how the ice has become a refuge from his grief.
“As soon as I hit the ice, my brain just—I don’t know whether it’s focus or just calmness or stillness or what, but it feels like I tune everything out,” he said. “And I’m just talking with them, and they’re helping me.
“I don’t hear the crowd. I don’t hear the announcers. I don’t hear anything. I just have this internal dialogue and I’m just able to almost be calm and just be in my heart,” Naumov said.
“And they’re always there, too. And every time I think of them, especially when I’m on the ice, it really, really helps me get through.”
It’s the first time since 2016 that the world championship is being held in the United States.
The tragedy directly affected The Skating Club of Boston, the championship’s organizing host, as six of its members lost their lives in the fatal crash—teen skating talent Jinna Han, 13, and Spencer Lane, 16, both of their mothers, and Naumov’s parents.
A tribute between competition sessions honored the victims on March 26, with Boston’s Coro Allegro choir performing “Precious Lord” before the pairs competition.
Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who finished sixth in pairs this weekend, held up pictures of the Boston club members who died in the crash.
Reigning U.S. champion Amber Glenn wore a T-shirt honoring the memory of all the young skaters who were lost.
Ilia Malinin, who won his second world championship in a row on Saturday night, closed the show Sunday with a performance that he dedicated to the victims, ending his routine red-eyed and on the verge of tears.
Naumov’s introduction at the gala acknowledged his Boston roots and three fourth-place finishes at the nationals but did not mention the tragedy. Of course, the skating fans all knew and gave him a standing ovation.
His choice of music was Mac Miller’s posthumously released 2020 song “That’s on Me” for a reason. Miller died of an accidental overdose in 2018, and his music had become a source of solace for Naumov.
“Lately, for some reason—well, not for some reason—but lately I’ve just been listening to Mac Miller’s album ‘Circles.’ Like just over and over and over,” Naumov said. “And knowing the unfortunate story about him as an artist, it’s been very relatable.”
“I relate to it, and I feel really deeply and emotionally what he’s talking about in those songs. And it’s also been really helpful for me to almost get my emotions out in that way personally.”
When his skate ended, Naumov inhaled deeply, pressed a hand to his heart once more, and waved in every direction. As he exited the ice to a standing ovation that lasted more than a minute, he made the sign of the cross.
“There’s a lot of emotions just right now, and it’s hard to even put a name to what I’m feeling currently,” he said. “I just feel so much support, and it’s very overwhelming.
“I have so much gratitude,” Naumov said. “And I’m thankful for each and every single one of those fans.”