Maxim Naumov will represent the United States at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics as a member of the figure skating team and will be guided by his late parents, who died a year ago in a plane crash that rocked the figure skating world.
Former Olympians Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were among those on board an American Airlines plane that collided with a Black Hawk helicopter on Jan. 29 last year. Sixty-seven people died in the crash, including 28 members of the figure skating community.
Naumov held up a photo of his parents after competing in the men’s free skate at the United States Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis on Saturday.
Naumov, 24, later sat down with Hoda Kotb for an exclusive interview that aired on “TODAY” on Monday. He spoke alongside fellow skaters who were named to Team USA after the championships.
Hoda Kotb speaks to Andrew Torgashev, Ilia Malinin, Maxim Naumov on “TODAY.”NBC News
“You were holding the picture of your parents who perished in that plane accident,” Kotb said to Naumov. “What were you saying to them from inside?”
“I was telling them that we did it, and we did it together,” Naumov said.
“One of the favorite words that you say right now is the word ‘we.’ ‘We are going to do this.’ ‘We can make it.’ ‘We’re going to the Olympics.’ It’s not just you, is it?
“No, no, I would not be here without them in any capacity,” he said.
Naumov’s godmother, Gretta Bogdan, was moved when she saw him receive his Olympic jacket and took comfort in believing his parents are also beaming.
Hoda Kotb speaks to Greta Bogdan and Maxim Naumov on”TODAY.”NBC News
“Probably one of the best moments of my life,” she told Kotb. “I know that his parents are watching down on him, and they’re incredibly proud of him, and they know what’s happening. They do.”
Naumov has previously spoken about what his parents meant to him and how he dealt with his grief.
“They were beautiful people. They were so incredibly kind,” he told “TODAY” in March 2025. “The only way out is through. There’s no other way. There are no options but to keep going. I don’t have the strength or the passion or the drive, or the dedication of one person anymore. It’s three people.”
Maxim Naumov with his parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova.Family photo
Naumov holds a photograph of his parents after competing Saturday.Jamie Squire / Getty Images
The 2026 U.S. figure skating team is a loaded group, headlined by Ilia Malinin, known as “The Quad God,” who will be making his Olympics debut. His parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, previously skated in the Olympics for Uzbekistan.
“It’s just such an honor, and I’m so grateful that (I’m) also just following in my parents’ footsteps,” Malinin said. “They were two-time Olympians as well, and I’m just so excited to go there.”
Andrew Torgashev is also a son of Olympians and understands the magnitude of his accomplishment.
“To call myself an Olympian is just so surreal. It makes me tear up, actually. It’s quite awesome,” he said.
The women’s team will feature three current and former U.S. champions in Alyssa Liu, Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn. They will each try to become the first American woman to win gold at the Olympics since Sarah Hughes did so in 2002.
“I think it’s great that it’s not just one person or singular hope. I think three people go at it — like, someone’s going to stick,” Glenn said while speaking alongside Levito and Liu.
When Kotb pointed out that the trio represents sisterhood and family, the skaters said it’s only natural.
“I mean, I feel like it’s kind of normal. I feel almost weird to be praised for –” Liu said.
“Friendship?” Glenn finished.
“I think one of the reasons that we all get along so well is because not that many people understand what it takes and understand the ups and downs of such an intense sport like we do,” she continued. “And I wouldn’t be here without these two ladies.”
Married couple and ice dance duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates are also on a quest to win gold at the Olympics after doing so in a team event in Beijing in 2022. This will mark their fourth Winter Games, which has some people wondering if they plan to call it quits anytime soon.
“You really never know when it’s going to be our last, so this season we’ve been treating everything with respect and care for the moment and trying not to miss any little bit of it,” Chock said.
“We’re best friends, and we get to skate together every day, so why would we stop?” Bates said.
Ice dance partners Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko will also compete in their first Olympics, but Ponomarenko is part of a trend: His parents, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, are also Olympians.
“Going to the Olympics in the same sport that my parents did, it’s unbelievable,” he said.
“It still hasn’t sunk in, to be honest,” Carreira said.
The U.S. figure skating team will feature 16 athletes who will put their best foot forward when the Winter Olympics begin Feb. 6.