Maxim Naumov’s story begins long before Olympic arenas and national medals. Born in 2001 in Hartford, Connecticut, he grew up in a household where figure skating was not an ambition but a shared language. His parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were World Champions whose competitive careers shaped the environment in which he was raised. Ice rinks were familiar ground from early childhood, and the discipline of elite sport was part of daily life.
As he matured, Maxim gradually stepped out from his parents’ legacy and built a competitive identity of his own. Through junior titles, steady national placements, and international assignments, he developed into one of the United States’ top men’s singles skaters. His career reflects technical growth, long-term training, and resilience shaped by both achievement and adversity.
Quick Profile
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Maxim Naumov |
| Date of Birth | August 1, 2001 |
| Age | 24 years old (as of 2026) |
| Birthplace | Hartford, Connecticut, USA |
| Height | 5’6″ (168 cm) |
| Current Residence | Norwood, Massachusetts |
| Parents | Vadim Naumov (1969-2025), Evgenia Shishkova (1972-2025) |
| Position | Men’s Singles Figure Skating |
| Training Club | Skating Club of Boston |
| Coaches | Vladimir Petrenko, Benoît Richaud, Ludmila Bogdan |
Parents: World Champions and Beloved Coaches
Maxim was born on August 1, 2001, in Hartford, Connecticut, to Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova—two of figure skating’s most accomplished pairs skaters. His parents weren’t just coaches; they were legends in the sport.
Vadim Naumov, born in 1969 in St. Petersburg, Russia, began skating for the Soviet Union before representing Russia after the USSR’s collapse. Evgenia Shishkova, born December 18, 1972, also in St. Petersburg, partnered with Vadim in 1985 after his coach suggested they skate together.
Their competitive career was extraordinary. They won the 1994 World Championship gold medal in Chiba, Japan—the pinnacle achievement in pairs figure skating. They also earned bronze at the 1993 World Championships and silver in 1995. Between 1991 and 1995, they collected five European Championships medals.
They competed at two Olympic Games—1992 in Albertville, France (5th place) and 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway (4th place). In Lillehammer, they narrowly missed bronze in a controversial judging decision that had the crowd whistling in protest.
Vadim and Evgenia married in 1995 after years of skating partnership. When they didn’t make Russia’s 1998 Olympic team after Vadim’s collarbone injury and a 4th-place finish at Russian Nationals, they retired from competition and moved to the United States in 1998 to begin coaching careers.
Three years later, in 2001, they welcomed their only child, Maxim.
Growing Up in a Skating Family
Maxim literally grew up on ice. According to U.S. Figure Skating’s official profile at https://usfigureskating.org/sports/figure-skating/roster/maxim-naumov/1191, he first stepped on ice at age three, though he didn’t begin formal skating training until age five.
Before committing to figure skating, young Maxim competed in gymnastics during his first four years of skating—developing body awareness, flexibility, and aerial skills that would later benefit his jumps and spins.
At age five, his parents began coaching him seriously. He had advantages most young skaters dream of: world champion coaches who understood elite-level technique, two parents completely dedicated to his development, and daily access to ice and training.
The family initially lived in Simsbury, Connecticut, where Vadim and Evgenia coached at the International Skating Center of Connecticut. Maxim trained there throughout his childhood, surrounded by other young skaters his parents mentored.
In 2017, when Maxim was 16, the family relocated to Norwood, Massachusetts, so Vadim and Evgenia could take positions coaching at the prestigious Skating Club of Boston. This move placed Maxim at one of America’s top training facilities.
Education and Balancing Academics with Skating
Maxim attended Simsbury High School in Connecticut, graduating in 2019. Balancing rigorous athletic training with academics required discipline—early morning practices before school, afternoon training sessions, weekend competitions, and still maintaining grades.
After high school, he enrolled in Arizona State University’s online program, allowing him to pursue higher education while maintaining his full-time training schedule. ASU Online provides flexibility for elite athletes who can’t attend traditional on-campus classes due to training and competition demands.
He hasn’t publicly disclosed his major, but he’s mentioned valuing education and understanding that athletic careers are finite, making academic credentials important for life after competitive skating.
Early Competitive Success
Maxim’s competitive resume began building early, demonstrating the elite training his parents provided:
2013: U.S. National Juvenile Champion 2016: U.S. National Novice Bronze Medalist, Gardena Trophy Champion 2017: U.S. National Novice Champion, International Challenge Cup Champion 2018: U.S. National Junior Bronze Medalist 2020: U.S. National Junior Champion
At the 2020 World Junior Championships, he finished in the top five, competing against the world’s best junior skaters. His only significant error came on a planned quadruple Salchow jump in the free skate. “I was definitely bummed about that,” he said afterward, “but I’m overall happy with how I did everything.”
This junior championship in Tallinn, Estonia, would be his last competition with his parents in attendance before tragedy struck.
Senior Career and Pandemic Challenges
Maxim transitioned to senior-level competition during the COVID-19 pandemic, facing unique challenges. His senior Grand Prix debut came at 2020 Skate America in Las Vegas, where he placed eighth—a respectable showing for a 19-year-old competing against established senior men.
At the 2021 U.S. Championships, also in Las Vegas, he placed fifth overall. His consistency earned him opportunities on the international Challenger circuit, where he gained experience competing in Budapest and Warsaw.
From 2023 to 2025, Maxim earned three consecutive “pewter medals” (4th place) at U.S. National Championships—finishing just off the podium but consistently in the top tier of American men’s skating.
His technical skills developed steadily. He landed clean quad jumps, improved his artistry, and built the competitive mental toughness required for championship-level skating. His influences included Olympic champions Evgeni Plushenko and Yuzuru Hanyu—and of course, his parents.
The Tragedy: January 29, 2025
On January 26, 2025, Maxim competed at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, finishing fourth and earning his third consecutive pewter medal. His parents were there, proudly watching and coaching.
Three days later, on January 29, 2025, Vadim and Evgenia stayed in Wichita to help run a development camp for young skaters—the kind of grassroots work they loved. The camp concluded, and they boarded American Eagle Flight 5342 heading home to Boston.
That evening, as the plane approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, it collided mid-air with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River. The plane crashed into the icy water. All 64 people aboard the plane and 3 military personnel in the helicopter were killed—67 total deaths.
Aboard Flight 5342 were 28 members of the figure skating community: skaters, coaches, and family members returning from the Wichita camp. Vadim Naumov, 55, and Evgenia Shishkova, 52, were among them.
The skating world was devastated. The loss of so many community members—including two young competitive skaters and their mothers—created grief that rippled through every rink in America.
For Maxim, the loss was incomprehensible. His parents, his coaches, his biggest supporters—gone in an instant.
Their final Instagram post, made just days before the crash, celebrated Maxim’s fourth-place finish: “Once again, Maxim made us all proud, getting on to the podium at Nationals after 7th place in the short. This beautiful and emotional performance is a result of team work… Maxim has earned his place in the team of 4 Continents.”
One of Maxim’s last conversations with his parents was about what it would take to make the 2026 Olympic team. His mother called him after his performance. “She was like, ‘Hey, I just want you to know that we love you and we’re proud of you,'” Maxim recalled. “It means everything to me. My whole life, a part of it, was to make them proud.”
Choosing to Continue: “The Only Way Out Is Through”
Maxim had been assigned to compete at the 2025 Four Continents Championships the week after the crash. He withdrew immediately, focusing instead on grief and honoring his parents.
On March 2, 2025, U.S. Figure Skating held “Legacy on Ice,” a memorial ice show paying tribute to the crash victims. According to coverage on CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/news/maxim-naumov-olympic-debut-after-parents-killed-midair-dc-collision/, Maxim performed to his parents’ favorite song, “Город, которого нет (The City That Doesn’t Exist)” by Igor Kornelyuk—a deeply emotional tribute.
He also immediately took control of “Tomorrow’s Champions,” the youth skating academy his parents had founded at the Skating Club of Boston. Rather than abandoning their legacy, he became director of the program, coaching the young skaters his parents had mentored.
Two months after the crash, Maxim spoke publicly about his grief in an interview with Today. “They were beautiful people. They were so incredibly kind,” he said. “The only way out is through. There’s no other way. There are no options but to keep going.”
He added something profound: “I don’t have the strength or the passion or the drive, or the dedication of one person anymore. It’s three people.”
He chose to continue competing—not despite his grief, but because of it. Skating would honor them.
New Coaches and the 2025-26 Season
Maxim needed new coaches. He selected Vladimir Petrenko—a longtime family friend, 1986 Junior World Champion, and current coach at the International Skating Center of Connecticut—as his head coach. Petrenko’s wife Elena also joined his support team.
The Petrenkos had known Vadim and Evgenia for years. Taking on their son carried profound emotional weight. “We just wish they could see,” Elena Petrenko told The Hartford Courant. “We wish we could say, ‘Here. Go to the Olympics. We helped you out, but you guys go.'”
Maxim also added renowned French choreographer Benoît Richaud to his team after being invited to Richaud’s Peak Ice summer training camps in Italy and France.
He opened his 2025-26 season in September, finishing ninth at the Lombardia Trophy. The following month, he placed ninth at Grand Prix de France and won gold at the Ice Challenge.
Every competition was progress. Every clean program was a step forward.
The 2026 U.S. Championships: Bronze and Olympic Qualification
In January 2026, exactly one year after his parents’ deaths, Maxim competed at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis, Missouri—the event that would determine the Olympic team.
He carried the childhood photograph of himself with his parents on ice. After his short program, he held it up as his scores were announced, tears streaming down his face. Coach Vladimir Petrenko sat beside him, also emotional.
After his free skate, Maxim won the bronze medal—his first senior national podium finish. It qualified him for one of three men’s spots on the 2026 U.S. Olympic team.
“It’s been an emotional roller coaster for me personally,” he said afterward. “You know, I’m really happy that is all over right now. And I’m relieved but incredibly grateful to be sitting in this position right now.”
Then he spoke about his parents: “I would not be sitting here without the unimaginable work, effort and love from my parents. It means absolutely everything to me, fulfilling the dream that we collectively had as a family since I first was on the ice at five years old. So it means absolutely everything. And I know they’re looking down, smiling and proud.”
Personal Life and Relationships
As of 2026, Maxim is single and has not publicly disclosed any romantic relationships. He has stated that his focus remains entirely on his skating career, processing his grief, and fulfilling his Olympic dream.
At 24, he’s at an age when many athletes balance competition with relationships, but the past year’s tragedy has understandably shifted his priorities. He’s mentioned that all his energy goes toward skating and honoring his parents’ legacy.
Life Beyond Competition
Maxim serves as on-ice director of Tomorrow’s Champions at The Skating Club of Boston—the youth program his parents founded. He coaches young skaters, passing on the technical knowledge and love of skating his parents gave him.
He enjoys spending time outdoors, relaxing in saunas, experimenting with his DJ controller, and hanging out with friends when not training. These hobbies provide balance to the intense demands of elite skating.
His social media presence on Instagram (@maximnaumov_) shares his skating journey, training updates, and occasional glimpses into his life off the ice, maintaining connection with fans who support him.
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