Last week was filled with intense news stories, including the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, widespread protests in Iran, and the shooting of activist Renee Good in Minneapolis. In contrast, let’s begin this week with some uplifting news. American figure skater Maxim Naumov, who tragically lost both parents and coaches in a mid-air collision over the Potomac River on January 29, 2025, is now headed to the Winter Olympics.

Naumov secured third place at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships held in St. Louis, Missouri, over the weekend. This achievement has earned him a spot on the 16-member U.S. team set to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Naumov finished behind U.S. champion Ilia Malinin and runner-up Andrew Torgashev.

His parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were former world champions in pairs figure skating and represented Russia in the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics. They relocated to the United States several years later to coach at the Skating Club of Boston. The couple supported their son at the 2025 U.S. championships in Wichita, Kansas, but remained after the event for some additional workshops.

The tragic accident involved an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a nighttime training exercise from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and a commercial airliner approaching Reagan National Airport. Initial findings from the National Transportation and Safety Board suggest that the Black Hawk was flying at an improper altitude, leading to a collision with the passenger jet. Both aircraft crashed into the icy Potomac River, and sadly, there were no survivors.

Maxim Naumov is headed to his first Winter Olympics.#MTUSA pic.twitter.com/3HOIdNR99T

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) January 11, 2026

Naumov’s parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were former world champions in pairs figure skating and represented Russia in the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics. They moved to the United States a few years later to coach at the Skating Club of Boston. They were with their son last January at the 2025 U.S. championship in Wichita, Kansas; he left after the end of the competition, but his parents stayed on a few extra day to attend some workshops.

His parents stayed longer to attend a developmental camp. En route home, their American Airlines flight to Washington collided in midair with a military helicopter over Washington’s Potomac River. The crash killed 67 people, 28 of them athletes, coaches or parents connected to U.S. figure skating.

This is the crash involving an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a night time training mission from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and a commercial airliner making a standard approach to Reagan National Airport. As RedState has previously reported, preliminary reports from the National Transportation and Safety Board indicate the Black Hawk was flying at too high a level, putting it on a collision course with the passenger jet. The two aircraft collided and plunged into the icy waters of the Potomac River. There were no survivors.