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

Maxim Naumov broke down in tears as the 23-year-old son of 1994 World Figure Skating pairs champions Evgenia “Zhenya” Shishkova and Vadim Naumov paid tribute to his parents at the Legacy on Ice event on Sunday, March 2 following their deaths in the recent American Airlines flight 5342 crash.

Maxim skated to a Russian song in tribute to his parents, placing two white roses on a table before launching into the emotional performance. At the end of his routine, Maxim sank to his knees on the ice in tears. (Watch the performance here.) Maxim also performed alongside other skaters for a program to “Ave Maria,” later holding up a candle while leaving the ice in a video shared by Team USA on X (formerly Twitter).

Maxim was one of the many skaters who performed at the fundraising event, held at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., to benefit the families of the victims of the Jan. 29 crash as well as the first responders who assisted in the recovery efforts. Proceeds will be distributed via the Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation’s Legacy on Ice program.

Some of the biggest names in the skating community made appearances at Sunday’s event, which also featured a performance to Beyoncé’s “Halo” by the skaters who had trained at the Development Camp for Team USA, as well as a performance by Sofia Bezkorovainaya, who skated to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The 14-year-old skater was close friends with another victim, 14-year-old Everly Livingston, who died alongside her sister Alydia Livingston, 11, in the crash.

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American Airlines flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. Multiple members of the skating community were on board the flight, as they had been heading back to Washington D.C. after attending the U.S. Figure Skating National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas. Authorities confirmed not long after the crash that all 67 victims’ bodies had been recovered.