Maxim Naumov – A Legacy on the Ice
With today marking the one year anniversary of the devastating DCA plane crash, figure skater Maxim Naumov is back on the ice for his Olympic debut after losing both his parents.
Naumov’s admittance to the U.S. Olympic team came just a day after winning bronze in the U.S Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis.
While representing Team USA, Naumov also comes from the Skating Club of Boston, which is sending three athletes to the Olympics for the first time in 14 years. While Naumov will be skating single, Emily Chan and Spencer Howe will be representing the Skating Club of Boston and Team USA in pairs.
Naumov is carrying on his parent’s legacy in this year’s games, as both Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were figure skaters who represented Russia at the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics.
Olympians from Virginia
Kim image from US Speedskating. (Sloane Gregory)
Out of all the Olympic qualifiers for the American team, quite a few come from Virginia.
Hitting particularly close to home is Ilia Malinin, a figure skater from Fairfax. Having won many championships since 2023, Malinin earned the U.S Championship title on January tenth.
Also from Fairfax comes Brandon Kim, competing in Short Track Speed Skating. Kim knew he wanted to compete in short track speed skating since he saw the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Having participated in multiple world championships, Kim now makes his debut to the U.S. Olympic team.
From Haymarket, roughly an hour away from Alexandria, Sarah Everhardt is a figure skater on the US Olympic team. Everherdt started her athletic career with swimming and gymnastics before starting figure skating. Everhardt currently attends Battlefield High School and plans to attend American University after graduation.
Hailing from Nokesville is Mystique Ro, competing in Skeleton. Ro was introduced to Skeleton in 2016 and made her debut in the International Luge Federation World Cup in 2023, later winning a world medal in 2025. Ro makes her Olympic debut in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
2026 Olympic Games
The 2026 Winter Olympics, “Milano Cortina 2026 Games” are taking place in Italy from February 6th to February 22nd. There will be a total of 735 medals across 16 Olympic disciplines that participants will compete for. You will be able to watch the games on NBC, Peacock, CNBC and USA Network.
Fun Facts:
- This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Paralympic Games.
- This year is the third time Italy has hosted the Paralympic games. (In the past they have hosted the first Summer Paralympics in 1960, the 2006 Winter Paralympics.)
- Ski Mountaineering makes its debut in the Olympics, joining the other 15 sports.
- Italy has hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics, 1960 Summer Olympics, and 2006 Winter Olympics. This year being the fourth game they are hosting.
- The 2028 Winter Olympics will be held in Los Angeles, USA.
- The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics Winter Games will last from March 6 to March 15.
- In the 2026 Winter Games, there will be over 3,500 athletes from 93 countries competing for 16 Olympic disciplines and six Paralympic sports.
