Ice skater Maxim Naumov is being cared for by a family friend “24 hours a day” after the loss of his parents, 1994 World Champions Evgenia “Zhenya” Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who died in the recent Washington D.C. plane crash.
Friends of Naumov, 23, opened up to People in an interview published on Sunday, February 2 about the young skater’s day-to-day life since the fateful crash that claimed the lives of 67 people.
“I know a couple who is with him right now,” said Ekaterina “Katia” Gordeeva, a former teammate and close friend of Naumov’s parents. “They weren’t even in Washington yet, but … that morning [of the plane crash], we all connected right away, all the people from Simsbury.” Simsbury is the town where Naumov lived with his parents.
The woman staying with Naumov “is like a godmother to him, and she is with him right now there and her husband,” Gordeeva also explained.
Sixty-seven people, including 14 figure skaters, died in the crash on January 29. The skaters were returning home from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Kansas on the American Airlines flight that collided mid-air with a military helicopter. The Skating Club of Boston sent 18 athletes to the competition, and CEO Doug Zeghibe said six members of the club’s team members were killed. No one survived the crash.
In addition to Evgenia Shiskova and Vadim, the team also lost Spencer Lane, his mother Christine Lane, and Jinna Han and her mother Jin Han.
“Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy,” the club said in a statement. “Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together 6 to 7 days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family. Of the skaters, coaches and parents on the plane, we believe six were from The Skating Club of Boston. We are devastated and completely at a loss for words.”
The statement continued, “These athletes, coaches and parents were returning from U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Camp, following last week’s U.S. Championships in Wichita. This camp is for young competitive skaters of tomorrow with the most promise to be a champion of tomorrow. The Club sent 18 athletes to compete at the U.S. Championships. It sent 12 athletes to the National Development Camp.”
An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing. On Saturday, February 1, U.S. Figure Skating announced it had launched a fund intended to provide financial assistance to the family members of those who died in the crash.
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