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Topics: World News, Olympics, News, Sport
Lucy Devine
An athlete at the Winter Olympics paid tribute to his parents just a year after they died when their American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter.
Figure skater Maxim Naumov is representing the US at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games, one year after the tragic death of his parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova.
The couple was on board an American Airlines flight when it collided with a helicopter last year.
The American Airlines Flight 5342 had departed Wichita, Kansas, and was expecting to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided mid-air with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on January 29 2025.
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The airplane was reportedly carrying 64 passengers, while three were on board the helicopter, when the aircrafts collided some 300 feet above the Potomac River.
There were no survivors of the tragic incident.
Vadim and Evgenia were themselves figure skaters who represented Russia in the 1992 and 1994 Olympics.
Maxim told NBC Sports in January, after he discovered he had made the team: “It means so much in our family, and it’s what I’ve been thinking about since I’ve been 5 years old, before I even knew how to think or what to think.
"So, I can’t even say in words how much this means to me."
When asked what his parents would think, he added: “They’d say, ‘We’re proud of you, but [the] job’s not finished. We’re just getting started.’"
After performing at this year's Winter Olympics, Maxim made a special tribute to his parents. As he waited to hear the scores, Maxim held up a photograph of himself and his parents, then kissed it.
A message was also displayed on the Jumbotron, which read: "Mom and Dad, this is for you."
Maxim achieved a season-best score of 86.65.
"I've been inspired by them since day one, ever since we stepped on the ice together," he said.
"It's not necessarily thinking about them specifically, but their presence. Feeling their presence. With every glide and step that I made on the ice, I couldn't help but feel their support, almost like a chess piece on a chessboard.
"... I didn't know if I was going to cry, smile or laugh. All I could do was look up at them. And man, I still can't believe what just happened. I think it's going to take me a few hours or maybe a few weeks to know."