Team USA's Maxim Naumov holds a picture of himself with his parents, after competing in the figure skating men's singles short program during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Feb. 10, 2026. WANG Zhao/AFP

When Maxim Naumov stepped onto Olympic ice at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan on Tuesday, he wasn't alone.

As the music began and the lights reflected off the rink, the 24-year-old American skater was fulfilling a dream he shared with his parents, former Olympic pairs skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. They were both killed last year in the midair collision over the Potomac River.

"It was a dream that all of them had," Susan Hamel-Bottari, a coach at the Skating Club of Boston and a close friend of the family, told CBS News after Naumov skated. "He always says it's not one, it's three."

That dream played out at the Milano Ice Skating Arena during the men's short program competition on Tuesday.

Right before he took the ice, on the jumbotron over his head, a message appeared: "Mom and Dad, this is for you."

Naumov then delivered one of the strongest skates of his career, earning a score of 85.65, enough to advance to the free skate round later this week.

But the numbers told only part of his story.

After finishing his program, he dropped to his knees and looked up. The crowd in the stadium let their emotions pour out as well, giving him a standing ovation.

He later pulled out a photo of himself as a small boy and future Olympian, standing on the ice for the first time between his parents.

"I didn't know if I was going to cry, smile or laugh," Naumov said afterward. "All I could do was look up at them. I still can't believe what just happened."

Inside his Team USA jacket, he carried a short message — one of his father's favorite reminders: "Expect the unexpected."

The past year has tested that advice in unimaginable ways.

Shishkova and Naumov were among 67 people killed last year when the passenger aircraft they were on collided with a military helicopter near Washington, D.C. They were on their way home from a skating development camp.

The tragedy devastated their tight-knit skating community, including the Skating Club of Boston, which lost several members.

Hamel-Bottari remembers the shock of that day, and what came after.

"I didn't know how to respond to him," she said. "I just told him I would always be there for him."

His resilience in the months since has been inspiring, Hamel-Bottari told CBS News.

"Every day he would come to the rink, no matter what," she said. "No matter what he was feeling inside, he showed up. He's mentally tough. He's a fighter."

Naumov leaned into his training, finding both refuge and release.

"With every glide and step that I made on the ice, I couldn't help but feel their presence," he said. "Almost like a chess piece on a chessboard."

Beyond his own competitive goals, Naumov has also carried on with his parents' work. They founded Tomorrow's Champions, a development program at the Skating Club of Boston designed to train young skaters through a rigorous mix of on-ice sessions, off-ice conditioning, gymnastics and ballet.

Even while training for the Olympics, Naumov continued teaching in the program.

"The kids love him," Hamel-Bottari said. "He's very positive. He learned from the best — from both of them."

Many of those young skaters were watching as Naumov took to the ice in Milan. Some traveled to Italy and held up handmade signs with their handprints and names. Others cheered from home.

"For us, as the Skating Club of Boston family, to see him and know what we went through, it just brings tears to your eyes," Hamel-Bottari said. "Tonight, he did it."

Naumov has said that he wasn't focused on perfection in his Olympic debut.

"I wanted to go out there and just give my heart out," he said. "Leave everything out there. Have no regrets."

Amid all the inspirational Olympic storylines, Naumov's performance stood apart for reasons far beyond scores and standings.

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