Naumov said he’s proud of his determination throughout the 2026 Winter Olympics

Maxim Naumov holds up a photo of his parents after competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics on Feb. 13.Credit : WANG Zhao / AFP via Getty

Prior to every skate, each Olympic figure skater has the chance to share a message with the arena crowd via the Jumbotron. Before he took the ice on Feb. 13, Maxim Naumov’s message was simple: “Mom and Dad, this is for you.”

Though he struggled through his free skate after an impressive short program in the men’s singles, Naumov, 24, achieved a lifelong Olympic dream in Milan — and he knows he made his late parents, who were also his coaches, proud in the process.

The Team USA skater — who was ranked 14th heading into the night after delivering one of the best short program performances of his life — earned 137.71 during round two, bringing his grand total to 223.36. He fell several times during the routine, but ended with a smile and a grateful wave to the crowd at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, who offered him a thunderous applause.

“It’s a couple technical mistakes, of course, but I’ve had the chance to gain a lot of perspective on my life this season… For me, this skate, this whole experience at the Olympics, means so, so much to me,” he told reporters including PEOPLE after the event. “I didn’t give up, from the start to the finish. That is something I can be proud of.”

Maxim Naumov competes at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Feb. 13, 2026.Sarah Stier/Getty

Just as he did after his short program, Naumov clutched a photo of his late parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, to his chest in the kiss and cry zone as he awaited his score. Once the score came through, he kissed the photo, which shows him with his parents at 3 years old, on the ice for the first time.

“I have it in my cross-body bag, so it’s literally on my chest, on my heart. I wanted them to sit in the kiss and cry with me and experience the moment, look up at the scores. They deserve to be sat right next to me, like they always have been,” he previously explained of having the photo with him.

The elder Naumov, 55, and his wife, 52, were killed in the American Airlines flight 5342 and U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter crash over Washington, D.C. in January 2025.

After his final event, Naumov told reporters that he learns something new about himself in every competition, and this go-round was no exception. He said he plans to “continue to move onwards.”

“I’m just a guy that had some really crazy things happen to, but I picked myself up and I continued to move, even when it was the last thing that was on my mind,” he said. “I’m not special in that. I think everyone has the ability to do that and I just hope and I pray that I can inspire someone to see that in themselves and to know that they can do it as well.”

Maxim Naumov and his parents.Maxim Naumov/Instagram

Naumov son told PEOPLE in January that his parents — the 1994 World Figure Skating pairs champions — were “my role models my entire life.”

“I hear their voices, like what they say to me, all those lessons that we had every single day for years,” Naumov said. “I have memories that are burned into my head, of certain corrections on jumps and things like that….or they’re laughing about something or telling me, ‘Don’t forget to point your toes.’ “

He recently launched a GoFundMe campaign titled “Building Stronger Minds for Young Athletes,” which supports the early development of a mental wellness program and resources designed to help athletes with their mental health.