Skater Maxim Naumov Breaks Down in Tears amid 'Emotional' Tribute to Late Parents Who Died in D.C. Plane Crash

Mar. 15, 2025

Maxim Naumov at the ‘Legacy on Ice’ event on March 2, 2025.Photo:Scott Taetsch/Getty

Scott Taetsch/Getty

The son of 1994 World Figure Skating pairs championsEvgenia “Zhenya” Shishkova and Vadim Naumovbroke down in tears as he honored his parents, who died in theAmerican Airlines tragedy, while performing at theLegacy on Iceevent.

On Sunday, March 2, Maxim Naumov, 23, was among many members of the skating community to take to the ice to pay tribute to the28 members of the figure skating communitywho were onboard American Airlines flight 5342, which collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 29.

Multiple skaters, along with Maxim’s parents, had been heading back to D.C. after attending the U.S. Figure Skating National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas. Maxim had also been in Wichita andfinished fourth in the senior men’s competitionat the U.S. National Championships on Jan. 26, just days before his parents' death.

The bodies of all67 victims have since been recoveredfollowing the crash over the Potomac River, authorities have confirmed.

Sunday’sLegacy on Iceevent at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. raised funds for the families of the victims, as well as the first responders who were responded to the crash. Proceeds will benefit them through the Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation’s Legacy on Ice program.

Maxim Naumov at the ‘Legacy on Ice’ event on March 2, 2025.Scott Taetsch/Getty

In a clip sharedon XMaxim skated onto the ice holding two white roses before placing them on a table filled with more white roses and candles at the side of the rink.

Three-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir was among those getting emotional at the event, telling PEOPLE following his solo skate to “Memory,” “I think that when you’re an athlete, you’re taught to have ice in your veins and to push through anything that affects your community. And ours is so small that even if you don’t know everybody, you know them all. They’re all family in some way.”

Eleven of the victims were young skaters from five different clubs, according to a tribute video previously shared tothe U.S. Figure Skating Instagram page.

Skaters honor the victims of the American Airlines crash at ‘Legacy on Ice’ event.Scott Taetsch/Getty

Weir, 40, tells PEOPLE, “There are so many little skaters out there, so I want to show them that it’s okay to continue and to dream and to sparkle for the people that we’ve lost. Losing these skaters, we lost a generation of dreamers.”

“You never know what’s going to happen in sports. You can never predict it. We lost beautiful coaches, parents of skaters. We lost a generation of people that only make our little world stronger, and it’s heartbreaking,” he adds.

Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.PIERRE VERDY/AFP via Getty

PIERRE VERDY/AFP via Getty

Retired figure skater Scott Hamilton — who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics — also spoke to PEOPLE about the tragedy at Sunday’s event. “What happened was so unspeakable, unthinkable and just so tragic and devastating that I was smothered, I mean, really literally, in sadness — I couldn’t get over it,” he says.

“I just it felt so heavy on me that just I couldn’t shake it. And then I just figured there’s probably a lot of people like me that don’t know what to do with this,” the 66-year-old adds while speaking about turning to prayer following the incident.

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2024 world champion, Ilia Malinin adds of paying tribute to the victims, “We’re all here to remember them and to keep them in our hearts, keep them in our heads, to just keep them in our hearts when we skate, and just skate for them.”

“Today was very emotional and very hard for all of us. It’s really an experience for us to go through, and we’re just glad that we’re all here as the figure skating family and community, just to support everyone and support each each other,” the 20-year-old continues, adding that it was “traumatic” to have known a lot of the people who were lost on the flight.

Legacy on Icewill air on NBC on March 30 at 1 p.m. ET.

source: people.com