‘It’s in God’s hands’: Norwood’s Maxim Naumov hopes he skated his way to a berth on US Olympic team

This week, Maxim Naumov told reporters that one of the last things he discussed with his late father and coach, Vadim, was how he could make the 2026 Olympic team after finishing fourth for three consecutive national championships.

It was a conversation they didn’t get to take further, as Vadim and his wife Evgenia Shishkova passed away in the crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 with an U.S. Army helicopter on Jan. 29, 2025. But Naumov developed the ideas in his father’s memory. 

Saturday night in St. Louis, Naumov showed facets of his father’s plan and put in his bid for a spot on the 2026 Olympic team, finishing third at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships with a score of 249.16, his highest placement on the senior level. He now awaits Sunday’s Olympic Team selection, which will be announced live on NBC beginning at 2 p.m.

Ilia Malinin easily won his fourth straight title, finishing with 324.88 points to continue an unbeaten streak stretching more than two years. Andrew Torgashev was a distant second with 267.62 points, while Naumov was less than a tenth of a point ahead of Jacob Sanchez.

Naumov opened his program to “In This Shirt” by The Irrepressibles with a flawless quadruple Salchow, then had bobbles on his next two jumps before landing a triple Axel-double Axel combination. He landed four more triple jumps before a step out on his final combination. The ending step sequence was the best choreographed of his career. Despite the slight miscues, he had the crowd on its feet at the end.

Grace Zhang, a member of the U.S. National Development Team who was previously coached by Naumov’s parents, greeted him at the boards and gave him a hug afterwards.

“I fought tooth and nail to get to the end of the program and not leave any points behind,” said Naumov in a press conference after the event.

After the night’s up-and-down competition was over, Naumov found himself in third. Longtime fan favorite and two-time Olympian Jason Brown struggled with his program and short program runner-up Tomoki Hiwatashi was judged to have a number of under rotations. After three straight years of fourth-place results, Naumov won the bronze.

“(After last year) I had a joke with some friends, saying, ‘Well consistency is key,’” said Naumov with a smile. Naumov’s story resonated with many across the country over the past few days.

For 1994 Olympic gold medalist Oksana Baiul, watching Naumov skate brought back memories — ones of having to compete after losing her own mother to cancer, and ones of spending good times with Naumov’s mother when they both moved to Simsbury, Conn. in the mid-1990s.

“When I saw him holding the photos, I was crying with him,” said Baiul by phone Saturday. “For me, being unfortunately in that position, I literally choked up watching him.

“I have memories of Evgenia [Shishkova, Naumov’s mother] when we first moved to Connecticut. She was such a great soul. She was a pairs skater, and you have to be mentally tough, like he has been.”

For Katharine Steeger and others at The Skating Club of Boston, Naumov’s performances represented what the entire club has tried to do in the year since the crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 with an US Army helicopter.

“The word that comes to mind is inspirational,” said Steeger, the club’s director of membership services before heading out to the club’s watch party at Castle Island Brewing in Norwood.

Подписывайтесь на наш дайджест в Facebook, Instagram, Telegram – в нем мы рассказываем об истории и о сегодняшнем дне Америки, и в первую очередь о том, что происходит в Бостоне и Массачусетсе.