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- Maxim Naumov \u2014 who is the son of American Airlines crash victims Evgenia \u201cZhenya\u201d Shishkova and Vadim Naumov \u2014 was among the multiple members of the skating community paying tribute to those lost at March 2’s\u00a0Legacy on Ice\u00a0<\/em>event<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Maxim broke down in tears after skating to \u201cAve Maria,\u201d before exiting the ice holding a candle while honoring his late parents<\/strong><\/li>\n
- 28 members of the skating community were among the 67 victims who died in the tragedy in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 29<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/div>\nThe son of 1994 World Figure Skating pairs champions\u00a0Evgenia \u201cZhenya\u201d Shishkova and Vadim Naumov<\/a>\u00a0broke down in tears as he honored his parents, who died in the\u00a0American Airlines tragedy<\/a>, while performing at the\u00a0Legacy on Ice<\/em>\u00a0event.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nOn Sunday, March 2, Maxim Naumov, 23, was among many members of the skating community to take to the ice to pay tribute to the\u00a028 members of the figure skating community<\/a>\u00a0who were onboard American Airlines flight 5342, which collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 29.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nMultiple skaters, along with Maxim’s parents, had been heading back to D.C. after attending the U.S. Figure Skating National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas. Maxim had also been in Wichita and\u00a0finished fourth in the senior men’s competition<\/a>\u00a0at the U.S. National Championships on Jan. 26, just days before his parents’ death.<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe bodies of all\u00a067 victims have since been recovered<\/a>\u00a0following the crash over the Potomac River, authorities have confirmed.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nSunday’s\u00a0Legacy on Ice<\/em>\u00a0event at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. raised funds for the families of the victims, as well as the first responders who were responded to the crash. Proceeds will benefit them through the Monumental Sports & Entertainment\u00a0Foundation\u2019s Legacy on Ice program.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\n \n![\"Max](\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/YHXrDjNNLrKw-pRLtDvsNmzHhCw=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(731x148:733x150):format(webp)\/max-naumov-legacy-on-ice-figure-skating-benefit-washington-dc-030325-f7c22ee3fe8a46c3882a7296bfba5569.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>Maxim Naumov at the ‘Legacy on Ice’ event on March 2, 2025.<\/span>Scott Taetsch\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n At the event, Maxim skated a solo to \u201cAve Maria,\u201d which he dedicated to his parents, before he sank to the ice crying and wiped away tears at the end of his emotional performance. In a clip shared\u00a0on X<\/a>, Maxim skated onto the ice holding two white roses before placing them on a table filled with more white roses and candles at the side of the rink.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nAnother clip shared\u00a0on X<\/a>\u00a0by the Team USA account showed Maxim holding up a candle while leaving the ice alongside some of his fellow skaters as the crowd clapped in solidarity.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nThree-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir was among those getting emotional at the event, telling PEOPLE following his solo skate to “Memory,” “I think that when you’re an athlete, you’re taught to have ice in your veins and to push through anything that affects your community. And ours is so small that even if you don’t know everybody, you know them all. They’re all family in some way.”<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nEleven of the victims were young skaters from five different clubs, according to a tribute video previously shared to\u00a0the U.S. Figure Skating Instagram page<\/a>.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\n \n![\"Alexander](\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/UGLqzw9DtdmEbvB0CumgeebajRA=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(669x450:671x452):format(webp)\/legacy-on-ice-figure-skating-benefit-washington-dc-030325-fb94290c886f423eb3bb951a81c5873f.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>Skaters honor the victims of the American Airlines crash at ‘Legacy on Ice’ event.<\/span>Scott Taetsch\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Weir, 40, tells PEOPLE, “There are so many little skaters out there, so I want to show them that it’s okay to continue and to dream and to sparkle for the people that we’ve lost. Losing these skaters, we lost a generation of dreamers.”<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n“You never know what’s going to happen in sports. You can never predict it. We lost beautiful coaches, parents of skaters. We lost a generation of people that only make our little world stronger, and it’s heartbreaking,” he adds.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nAmong Sunday’s appearances by some of the biggest names in the skating community, there was a group performance to\u00a0Beyonc\u00e9<\/a>‘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 a solo to \u201cSomewhere Over the Rainbow.\u201d Bezkorovainaya, 14, was close friends with crash victim\u00a0Everly Livingston<\/a>, 14, who died alongside her sister Alydia Livingston, 11, on Jan. 29.<\/p>\n
\n \n![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/IIR3fLDDUh5kspjSPzFNYcRMuR8=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(701x0:703x2):format(webp)\/Evgenia-Shishkova-and-Vadim-Naumov-2-013025-e4d8f23dccfc4e45a54e72d9a90f07e0.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.<\/span>PIERRE VERDY\/AFP via Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Retired figure skater Scott Hamilton \u2014 who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics \u2014 also spoke to PEOPLE about the tragedy at Sunday’s event. “What happened was so unspeakable, unthinkable and just so tragic and devastating that I was smothered, I mean, really literally, in sadness \u2014 I couldn’t get over it,” he says.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n“I just it felt so heavy on me that just I couldn’t shake it. And then I just figured there’s probably a lot of people like me that don’t know what to do with this,” the 66-year-old adds while speaking about turning to prayer following the incident.<\/p>\n
\n\n
For Mom & Dad \u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n
With the support of his friends, Team USA skater Maxim Naumov honored his late parents with a tribute performance at Legacy on Ice.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcfa: @peacock<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9eTTqD62Xn<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Team USA (@TeamUSA) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
- Maxim broke down in tears after skating to \u201cAve Maria,\u201d before exiting the ice holding a candle while honoring his late parents<\/strong><\/li>\n