Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty; Maxim Naumov/Instagram
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Figure skater Maxim Naumov honored his parents, 1994 World Figure Skating pairs champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, in an emotional tribute on Instagram
Maxim's post marked the first anniversary of the American Airlines tragedy that killed his parents and 65 others on Jan. 29, 2025
"It's hard to believe that it's already been one full year," Naumov began in his tribute.
Maxim Naumovhonored his parents Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov in an emotional tribute on the first anniversary of their deaths.
On Instagram on Thursday, Jan. 29, Maxim shared a photo of his parents on the one year anniversary of theplane crash claimed their lives and those of 65 others.
"It's hard to believe that it's already been one full year," Naumov, 24, wrote alongside the image of his smiling parents. "The most difficult year of my entire life. I still find myself waking up some days and just wondering why? How could this all have happened? For what reason? Why were they taken away from me so soon? Unfortunately there are always more questions than answers."Naumov, who is preparing for his Olympic debut next week, continued, "But, despite all of that I get ready, put on my coat and head out the door. Every. Single. Day. Because I have a job to do. I am quickly reminded of the goal we set out to achieve when I was 5 years old. Together. As a family. Now, 19 years later, we are here. We did it."
The athlete concluded his post by calling his parents, who were also his coaches, his "superheroes."
Ezra Shaw/Getty
"And now, you really are flying over me and protecting me," he wrote. "I pray that you are at peace. May god bless your hearts."
On Sunday, Jan. 11, Naumov was officially named to the 2026 U.S. Olympic team. In a statement after the announcement, the figure skater honored his parents, saying, "We did it! God is good. Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family, and it's what I've been thinking about since I'm 5 years old. … So I can't say into words how much this means to me."
He also shared his thoughts on how his parents would react to his accomplishment, saying, "I really hope that my mom watched because she never used to watch me skate. But they say we're proud of you, but job's not finished, we're just getting started."
As Naumov was presented with his Team USA jacket after the announcement, he was shown a video of an interview from his childhood in which he described how it had always been his "dream" to compete in the Olympics.
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"Well, that dream has come true," an NBC Sports host told Naumov as he hid his face in his hands, crying after the video played. "You're headed to the Olympics!"
Naumov said then that the Olympics "means so much in our family and it's what I've been thinking about since I've been five years old."
His parents, along with 65 others, were killed when American Airlines flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C. Of the 67 lives that were lost,28 were members of the figure skating community.
Multiple skaters, along with Naumov's parents, had been heading back to D.C. after attending the U.S. Figure Skating National Development Camp in Wichita, Kan. Naumov had also been in Wichita andfinished fourth in the senior men's competitionat the U.S. National Championships on Jan. 26, just days before his parents' death.
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For a time after their deaths, Naumov questioned if he would bother trying to make the Olympic team at all. But he came back around, largely because of what it meant to his parents.
"It's the ultimate goal," Naumov said on Jan. 8, according to theAssociated Press. "It's what my parents and I — one of our last conversations was about exactly that, and you know, it would mean the world to me to do that. So that's what we're fighting for."
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come topeople.comto check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock
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