2 weeks Ago
BOSTON — Few people in the world could possibly understand the grief being felt by Maxim Naumov, the 23-year-old from The Skating Club of Boston who two months ago lost both his parents in a plane crash over the Potomac River in Washington D.C. But judging by the reception Naumov received Sunday afternoon at TD Garden, he has a shoulder to cry on that circles the globe.
Advertisement Naumov received a long, respectful standing ovation when he was introduced at the “Exhibition of Champions” on this last day of the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships. It wasn’t necessary for it to be announced that Naumov’s parents, former Olympian champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were onboard American Airlines Flight 5342 when it collided with a United States Army helicopter, killing 67 people. Everybody knows.
They’ve read the media accounts. They’ve seen the television coverage. On this afternoon in Boston, they could see it in Max Naumov’s eyes.
And they could see it in his skating. He delivered a flawless exhibition of love, skating to a selection from the late American rapper Mac Miller’s “Circles” album. When he finished, Naumov looked straight up and extended his arms.
He said something, which all of us in attendance assumed to be a message to his parents. It was. “It was all in Russian,” Naumov said, speaking with a media gathering after his skating exhibition.
“This is for you guys. You guys were with me. I love you both.
” Only recently has Naumov begun to talk publicly about losing his parents. In an interview with NBC’s “Today” that aired last Thursday, Naumov revealed that his parents, who were on hand in Wichita, Kan., to see Maxim finish fourth in the United States Figure Skating Championships, made a last-second change in plans for the trip back to Boston.
“My mom let me know that they’re switching flights and that if I could, pick them up,” Naumov told “Today.” His parents, who had become coaches, remained in Wichita a few days for a development camp. Maxim, an only child who lives at the family home in Simsbury, Conn.
, and trains at The Skating Club of Boston, had returned to New England after the competition. Sunday’s performance at TD Garden was his second skating exhibition since his parents’ deaths. On March 2, he performed at ”Legacy on Ice,” a benefit to raise funds for the families of crash victims and first responders held at Capital One Arena in Washington D.
C. In addition to his appearance on “Today” and an interview for NBC Sports, Naumov also did some television interviews after Sunday’s exhibition performance. This was followed by a visit to the mixed zone that lasted just under 10 minutes.
Advertisement Naumov has acquitted himself well in these settings, which gives us license to suggest this heartbroken young man possesses the strength, maturity and conviction to meet the many challenges that are ahead. He’ll need help, though. And by all accounts, help is all around him.
“I lose count,” Naumov said. “I can’t count on my hands and toes how many hugs and people have come up to me and expressed their support. It makes my heart so full.
“I have so much gratitude, and I’m thankful for each and every one of those fans,” he said. “It really does feel like extra strength.” GO DEEPER Madison Chock and Evan Bates, U.
S. ice dance stars, win third straight world title Naumov has been buoyed by the support he has received from The Skating Club of Boston. “It’s been beyond anything that I ever could have imagined,” Naumov said.
“I’m so grateful and thankful for the support of the figure skating community. It helps so much to get through these days.” But know this: While it’s true that TD Garden was sold out on Sunday, Maxim Naumov was all alone.
Yes, he later talked about the people who have been there for him — “Coaches, skaters, parents, other athletes, people behind the scenes,” he said — and I don’t believe he was speaking figuratively when he added that he’s yet to walk down a hallway the past two months without being hugged by somebody. “I’m thinking about these people all the time,” Naumov said. “But as soon as I hit the ice, my brain .
.. I don’t know whether it’s focus or calmness or stillness or what, I tune everything out, especially now.
All the voices, everything. It’s just quiet. I’m just talking with them, and they’re helping me.
” Those of us who have never stood in the middle of a sheet of ice, poised to deliver a hoped-for masterclass of figure skating brilliance, be it competition or exhibition, can’t possibly understand what’s going on inside the heads of these talented athletes. But in the case of Naumov, we know it’s not one person but three. It’s Max, joined by Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova.
Advertisement “Doing it for myself is doing it for them as well,” Naumov said. “And when I do it for them, I do it for everybody.” Naumov said it’s “hard to even put a name to what I’m feeling.
” As he works things out, he’ll work with young skaters. What a gift that will be to his parents. As he already is discovering, what a gift that will be to himself.
“Such a wonderful opportunity my parents left,” Naumov said. “The ‘Tomorrow’s Champions’ program at The Skating Club of Boston is their legacy. Working with those kids, it helps me get through difficult situations.
“I’m able to help them, and they help me.” Naumov is not giving up on competitive skating. As he put it, “I just want to keep moving in that direction and see where it goes.
” Wherever it goes, he won’t go it alone. (Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images).
