The 23-year-old figure skater, who lost both his mother and father in an air disaster on the Potomac River, revealed on Thursday that his former Olympian parents had changed flights at the last minute.
Maxim Naumov suffered heartbreaking losses when coaches of American Airlines planes carrying their parents on January 29th, Evgenia Sisykova and Vadim Naumov, as well as 62 other passengers and crew members collided with military choppers near Reagan National Airport.
The couple initially chose to jump on the unfortunate American Airlines Flight 5342 before being on another flight back from the US figure skating championship and training camp in Wichita.
“My mother let me know that they're switching flights and if I can pick them up,” Maxim Naumov said I spoke to host Craig Melvin today. Thursday.
“My mother always texts me and calls me as soon as they land.”
But he didn't call.
Instead, the grieving son can hold only his parents' memories, including the last thing his mother told him.
“The truth is that my mother called me was, 'Hey, I just want you to know that we love you, we're proud of you,'” Maxim told an emotional NBC interview. “That means everything to me.”
“A whole life, part of it, was to be proud of them.”
Born in Russia, Elder Naumov and Sishkova were coaches at Boston's skate clubs, continuing their illustrious careers, including the Olympics at the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships, winning pair titles.
Maxim, a US national team replacement, was in Wichita for the January championship, but left a few days ago.
He gave an emotional performance in honor of his parents who passed away earlier this month, when he fell to his lap and finished crying in front of 15,000 people.
“I skated really, really, really, really, really,” he said, recalling the moment. “I wasn't thinking about steps. I wasn't thinking about jumps, spins, etc. I just let go and didn't feel it.”
He remembered his parents to be beautiful and incredibly kind.
“The only way is to go through. There's no other way,” Maxim said, speaking of his sadness.
“I have no choice but to continue doing that. I don't have any more strength, passion, drive, or one-person dedication. It's three.”
