Ice Skater Who Lost Parents in American Airlines Crash Gives Ilia Malinin Advice
Maxim Naumov, who lost both of his parents in the crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 in 2025, offered advice to Ilia Malinin, the young figure skater.
After Malinin failed to medal in the men's figure skating final at the Winter Olympics, Naumov reached out to the young skater via People. “This message is for Ilia specifically. I just want him to know that it’s sports. It’s hard,” Naumov told the outlet. “And the fact of what happened is a reality and it shows just how real and raw it all is.”
“A lot of times we as athletes tie so much of our performance and the points [to] our own self-worth, and I just want Ilia to know that we love him and we support him and it doesn’t matter,” he also said. “None of the skating stuff is ever going to affect that.”
Ilia Malinin Will Find a Way to Bounce Back
Naumov also said that he believes Malinin will find a way to comeback from the loss. “Knowing him, he’s definitely going to respond big and I’m just praying for him. I want to support him as best I can,” said Naumov. “As a teammate, as a friend and just as a human. It’s tough. But that’s sports. Things like that are gonna happen, and like I said, it’s how you bounce back that’s the most important.”
Naumov came in 20th place in the same compeitition. He also told People he hopes to begin coaching with Tomorrow's Champions, the training program established by his parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, in Boston.
“I definitely need a little bit of a reset, a little bit of a moment to myself and a chance to look back and reminisce, but also have some space to think about what the future holds for me,” he explained. “I’m definitely interested in putting more time and dedication into coaching and helping support the youth coming up… I’m young. I’m 24, so the future is very bright in whatever direction that I go and if it’s in the cards, it’s in the cards. I just need some space to figure that out.”
But for now, he's also enjoying spending time around so many athletes in the Olympic Village.
“There's mutual respect for everybody and every one of these athletes that’s at this Games, we know what we sacrifice and what we did to get to this point,” Naumov added. “Going to the dining hall and seeing just like, what seems like hundreds of athletes all hanging out and mingling and talking and laughing and that experience is something I'll remember forever.”
Ilia Malinin Said He Was Walking "in Darkness"
In a post shared on social media soon after his loss, Malinin described himself as suffering "in darkness."
"On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside," Malinin began his post shared Monday. "Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure."
Malinin also hinted that he will perform at the February 21 exhibition gala.