00:00U.S. Figure Skater Qualifies for Olympics After Losing Parents in Crash
00:04American figure skater Maxim Naumov, 24, qualified for his first Olympics after finishing third at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis.
00:14His parents were killed in a plane crash last year. The Milan Winter Games are next month.
00:19Naumov was seen kissing a photo of his parents after learning his placement.
00:23We did it, Naumov said, after learning he had made the Olympic team, according to the Los Angeles Times.
00:28We absolutely did it. Naumov's parents, former Olympians Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov,
00:34were among 67 killed in a January 2025 plane helicopter collision near Reagan Airport.
00:40The 1994 world champions were returning from a skating camp.
00:44Maxim had flown separately after competing, later honoring their shared dream of his Olympic qualification.
00:51In March, Naumov delivered an emotional performance at a charity skating event
00:55honoring the victims of the crash near Ronald Reagan International Airport.
01:00Following the performance, he dropped to his knees and wept on the ice.
01:04That same month, Naumov spoke publicly about the tragedy during an interview on the Today Show.
01:10He recalled that his parents had asked him to pick them up from the airport
01:13and describe them as beautiful people who were so incredibly kind.
01:18The only way out is through, Naumov said during the interview.
01:22There's no other way. There are no options but to keep going.
01:26I don't have the strength or the passion or the drive or the dedication of one person anymore.
01:32It's three people.
01:34Naumov is the son of two Russian-born parents and has represented the United States throughout his competitive career.
01:41His Olympic qualification comes after what he described as a season focused on perseverance and personal resolve.
01:49It's all about being resilient, Naumov said before the championships, according to the Associated Press.
01:55That's the feeling and mentality I've clung to this entire season.
01:59And I find in times of really difficult emotional stress, if you can just push yourself a little bit more and almost think,
02:06what if? What if I can do it?
02:08What if, despite everything that happened to me, I can go out and do it?
02:13And that is where you find strength.
02:15And that's where you grow as a person, he continued.
02:18Naumov will compete in Milan alongside fellow U.S. men's figure skating representatives Ilya Malinin and Andrew Torgashev.
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