Maxim Naumov: Figure skater that lost both parents to the DC Crash plane brings the World Championships

Boston – Maxim Naumov stopped in the middle of the ice, looked at the sky and beat the heart. Then he made a few words, in Russian, his parents:

“That is for you. You are with me. I love you both.”

NOTE: The video is from a previous report

Former champions of the world pairs, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, died in January, when their plane crashed into a military helicopter at the approach to Washington, DC, and fell into the Ictomac River. A number of 67 people were killed, including more than two dozen that returned from a development camp following the US, Kansas Wichita skating championships.

Maxim Naumov, who finished in fourth place in the nations, has already returned home. Since the collapse, he has become the face of the tragedy in many ways – or at least his effect on the skating community.

“I don’t think I went through a hall and I haven’t hugged since then. And I feel that support and love,” he said on Sunday. “It was beyond whatever I could have imagined. And it helps so much to go on this day.

“It’s overwhelming,” he said. “But it makes my heart so full.”

Naumov, 23 years old, skated for Washington earlier this month, which raised over $ 1.2 million for victims’ families. Speaking on Sunday with reporters after attending the World Championship Gala, Naumov said that the time on ice gives the mind a chance to escape the tragedy.

“As soon as I hit the ice, my brain just – I don’t know if it is focused or just calm or quiet or what, but it feels like I would give everything,” he said. “And I’m just talking to them and helping me.

“I don’t hear the crowd. I don’t hear the announcers, I don’t hear anything. I just have this internal dialog and I’m able to be almost calm and just be in my heart,” Naumov said. “And I’m always there. And every time I think of them, especially when I’m on ice, it really helps me to pass.”

The World Championships, which were previously scheduled at Boston’s Celtics and Bruins, brought a renewed attention to the plane accident and the old skating club in Boston, which was a house for Olympics and leisure skater.

On Wednesday there was a tribute, between the two sessions of the day and frequent memories of the tragedy.

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who finished sixth in pairs this weekend, held pictures of the Boston club members who died in the accident: two young skaters, their mothers and the two coaches. Amber Glenn, the American champion, wore a shirt that honored the memory of all young skaters who were lost.

Ilia Malinin, the “quad god” who won the second World Championship as Saturday night, ended the show on Sunday with a performance that she said was dedicated to the victims of the plane accident. He arrived at the end, with red eyes and suffocating the tears back.

The introduction of Naumov on Sunday identified it as a member of the Boston club and included the three finishes in fourth in national. He did not mention the accident, but many in the crowd have certainly known the connection: he received not only the polite applause that greeted most of the other skaters, but also a second wave, with people who were to cheer it.

Wearing unadorned black pants and a sparkling black countertop, a gold chain that flowed around the neck as it slipped on the ice, Naumov offered a gala performance that aims at more emotion than proof of athletic skill.

The choice of music, the posthumous launch of the Mac Miller 2020 “That’s on Me” was intended. Miller died from an accidental drug overdose in 2018.

“Lately, for some reasons – no, not for some reason – but lately I have listened to Mac Miller’s album” Circles “. Like just everywhere, said Naumov. “And knowing the unfortunate story about him as an artist, he was very reporting.

“I relate to this and I feel deeply and emotionally about what he is talking about in those songs. And it was very helpful to get my emotions in this way.”

When his patina ended, Naumov breathed deeply, beat his heart again and waved in every direction. His arches were deep and fiery. Leaving the ice after an ovation standing for a minute, he made the sign of the cross.

“There are a lot of emotions right now and it’s hard to even put a name to what I feel today,” he said. “I feel so much support and is very overwhelming.

“I have so much gratitude,” Naumov said. “And I am grateful for each of those fans.”