American figure skater Maxim Naumov recently shared his thoughts after officially withdrawing from the 2026 Winter Olympics. Naumov qualified for the quadrennial event by grabbing one of the three spots available in men’s figure skating finals at the US Figure Skating Championships.
The current edition of the US Championships was held from January 4 to January 11 in St. Louis, Missouri. Naumov, along with Ilia Malinin and Andrew Torgashev, qualified for the 16-member skating squad that will represent Team USA at the Winter Olympics.
Maxim Naumov Reveals His Feelings After Fulfilling His Childhood Dream
Naumov revealed in a post-championship interview that it was his childhood dream to qualify for the Winter Olympics. He is the son of former Russian skaters Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, who had won a gold medal at the 1994 World Championships in the pairs category. The couple had passed away in a plane crash last year.
In the clip shared on their X account [formerly Twitter] by NBC Olympics & Paralympics, Naumov mentioned,
“We did it. We absolutely did it. God is good. God is good everyday. Year after Year. We talked about the Olympics. [Naumov referring to his parents]. It means so much in our family. And it’s what I’ve been thinking about since I’ve been five years old. Before I even know how to think or what to think. So I can’t even say in words how much this means to me.”
The 24-year-old skater also thanked the people for the emotional support over the past year. Naumov further added,
“Unbelievable. Every message, every letter, Every call, every text. I see it, and it helps me, just keep pushing through the difficult days, getting up and going to bed. Thank you everyone.”
The upcoming Olympics will be in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The quadrennial event shall be held from February 6 to February 22.
The US Skating Squad for the 2026 Winter Olympics, ft. Maxim Naumov
Following is the skating squad that will be representing Team USA at the upcoming Milano Cortina Winter Olympics :
Women: Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, Isabeau Levito
Alternates [For Women’s Individual]: Bradie Tennell, Sarah Everhardt, Starr Andrews
Men: Ilia Malinin, Andrew Torgashev, Maxim Naumov
Alternates [For Men’s Individual]: Jason Brown, Tomoki Hiwatashi, Jacob Sanchez
Pairs: Emily Chan & Spencer Akira Howe, Ellie Kam & Danny O’Shea
Alternate [For Pairs]: Audrey Shin & Balazs Nagy, Valentina Plazas & Maximiliano Fernandez, Chelsea Liu & Ryan Bedard
Ice Dance: Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko, Madison Chock & Evan Bates, Emilea Zingas & Vadym Kolesnik
Alternate [for Ice Dance Pairs]: Caroline Green & Michael Parsons, Emily Bratti & Ian Somerville, Oona Brown & Gage Brown
