An American figure skater whose parents were killed in a plane crash is heading to the Olympics

Figure skater Maxim Naumov, whose parents were killed in a plane crash in Washington, D.C., last year, has joined the US team for next month’s Winter Olympics.

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

“We did,” Naumov said when asked what his parents would say if they were watching.

His parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were among 67 people killed in January 2025 after an American Airlines plane collided with a military helicopter in mid-air in Washington, DC. They were world pair skating champions in 1994 and skated for Russia.

They later moved to the United States and trained at the Skating Club of Boston.

On Saturday, Naumov, 24, finished third behind Ilya Malinin and runner-up Andrew Torgashev at the US Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis.

He will now be one of 16 skaters representing the United States at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

As Naumov competed this week, he uploaded a photo of himself as a child with his parents.

“I thought of them right away,” Naumov said Sunday, according to US Figure Skating magazine. “I wish they were here to experience it with me, but I feel their presence, and they are with me.”

Last January, his parents were among those killed after an American Airlines plane coming from Kansas with 64 people on board collided with a military helicopter piloted by three people. There were no survivors.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were on their way back from Wichita, Kansas, which was hosting the 2025 US Championships.

Among those on board were 28 athletes, coaches or parents associated with figure skating in the United States.

Olympic figure skating starts on February 6.