2026 Winter Olympics: The most emotional moment for Ilya Malinin, Minion and Milan in men’s figure skating

It is impossible to imagine what American skater Maxim Naumov has gone through over the past 12 months.

Just over a year ago, his parents — former world pair skating champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova — were among 67 people killed in a plane crash in Washington, D.C. Among those on board were 28 athletes, coaches or parents connected to figure skating in the United States.

Naumoff said his dream of joining Team USA was one of the last things he talked about with his parents before they were killed.

“They are my superheroes, my role models, my biggest support system. I just wanted to make them proud here,” he told the BBC after his performance.

“My dad said, ‘It’s all training until we get to the Olympics.’ I can’t put into words how much what he said made me feel. There are also really no words to be able to rise to this occasion, I just hope I make them proud.”

He arrived at the Games, placing second on the ice Tuesday, dancing to Frédéric Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20.

After a slight slip on his triple axel, Naumov regained his composure and skated a technically strong routine.

When he finished, the 24-year-old looked up at the sky on his knees with tears in his eyes as the arena erupted. With a wide smile, the cameras captured him saying “thank you” – perhaps to those inside the square and elsewhere.

That was good enough for the judges, who awarded Naumov his season-best 85.65 points for the performance — enough for a spot in the top 24 and a spot in Friday’s free skate.

As the results came in, Naumov held up a photo of his late parents when he was a young child.

“I bring it with me everywhere I go,” he said of the photo, which showed him holding his parents’ hand while standing next to an ice rink. “It’s in my bag, so it’s literally right here in my heart.

“They deserve to be here, to be next to me, to look at the results together and say: Look what we just did!”