Vadim Naumov

Career

Shishkova and Naumov were introduced in 1985 by Naumov's coach who wanted them to skate together. Naumov initially rebuffed the idea because he did not wish to change partners; however after several tryouts, he and Shishkova agreed to be a team. They landed a throw triple jump during their first training and began competing together in 1987.

In 1991 Shishkova/Naumov won the Soviet National Championships and captured bronze at their first European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, then placed 5th at the World Championships in Munich, Germany. During the next season, they competed at their first Olympics, the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, placing fifth. Shishkova/Naumov won their first World Championships' medal–bronze–at the 1993 World Championships. The pair placed 4th at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. They just missed out on Olympic bronze, with 4 judges out of 5 placing them 3rd ahead of eventual bronze medal winners, the Canadians Brasseur & Eisler. People in the public whistled when the marks appeared on the jumbotron. The pair ended the season by becoming world champions in Chiba, Japan east of Tokyo on 23rd March 1994.

Shishkova/Naumov won their third World Championships' medal, which was silver at the 1995 World Championships in Birmingham, England. Despite skating a clean free program, they lost to a flawed free skate by the eventual winners Kovarikova & Novotny. From 1991 to 1995, the pair also won five European Championships medals. After being forced to withdraw from the 1996 European Championships due to a severe ear infection suffered by Evgenia, in February 1996 they won gold at the 1995–96 Champions Series Final (later renamed the Grand Prix Final) in Paris. At the 1996 World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Shishkova/Naumov were third after the short program. In the long program, four judges gave first-place votes to Marina Eltsova / Andrei Bushkov who finished as gold medalists. Four judges voted in favor of Shishkova/Naumov, however, low scores from the other five judges left them off the podium in 4th place.

Shishkova/Naumov missed most of the 1996/97 season following Naumov's collar bone injury that he suffered in the summer and early fall of 1996. They did not make the 1998 Winter Olympic team for Russia as they placed 4th at Russian Nationals' in December 1997. They decided to retire from ISU competition in 1998 and skate and turn professional. The pair won the World Professional Championships in Jaca, Spain, in April 1998. After skating professionally for about a year and a half, they transitioned into coaching, working at the International Skating Center in Simsbury, Connecticut northwest of Hartford. They moved and became coaches at the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts west of Quincy, in February 2017.

Personal life and death

Shishkova and Naumov married in Saint Petersburg, Russia on 7 August 1995. They lived in Simsbury in 1998. Their son, Maxim Naumov, was born in August 2001 and competes in men's singles for the United States.

On 29 January 2025, Naumov and Shishkova were passengers on American Eagle Flight 5342, and died when a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided with the plane while the jet was on approach to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing all 67 people on both aircraft. They were returning from Wichita, Kansas, where they had participated in a development camp for young skaters in the days following the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The Skating Club of Boston, where the couple coached, had six skaters who died in the crash. Their son, Maxim, who had competed at the U.S. Championships, was not onboard the plane, having flown out of Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport two days before the crash took place.{{Cite news|last=Trainor|first=Daniel|title=Son of Figure Skating Couple who Died in Plane Crash Flew Out of Wichita Days Before Them|url=http://usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/figure-skater-left-wichita-days-before-parents-died-in-plane-crash|date=30 January 2025 |access-date=30 January 2025|work=US Magazine}} On March 2, 2025, U.S. Figure Skating held an ice show called Legacy on Ice, which paid tribute to Naumov and the other victims that were killed aboard American Eagle Flight 5342. Maxim performed to Shishkova and Naumov's favorite song, "Город, которого нет (The City That Doesn't Exist)" by Igor Kornelyuk, to honor his parents.

In January 2026, Maxim fulfilled his and his parents' dreams by making the 2026 Winter Olympic team. "I would not be sitting here without the unimaginable work, effort and love from my parents," said Naumov after being named to the team. "It means absolutely everything to me, fulfilling the dream that we collectively had as a family since I first was on the ice at five years old. So it means absolutely everything. And I know they’re looking down, smiling and proud."

Programs

Competitive highlights

GP: Champions Series (Grand Prix)

With Naumov:

• Soviet Union (URS): Start of career through December 1991
• Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS): 1992 European and World Championships
• Unified Team at the Olympics (EUN): 1992 Olympics
• Russia (RUS): 1992–93 to end of career

References

References

1. (30 January 2025). "World figure skating champions and coaching pair Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov killed in plane crash". International Olympic Committee.
2. (2 April 1996). "Champions Series Final earns high marks". Skating Magazine.
3. (30 January 2025). "Passengers on downed flight included American and Russian figure skaters". [[Associated Press]].
4. "Russian Champion Skaters Naumov, Shishkova Reportedly Among Passengers In D.C. Plane Crash". [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]].
5. (30 January 2025). "Russian skating couple, world champions in 1990s, were in crashed US airliner". [[Reuters]].
6. Toole, Mike. (30 January 2025). "2 figure skaters from The Skating Club of Boston, their mothers and coaches among DC plane crash victims". [[CBS Boston]].
7. Sager, Monica. (30 January 2025). "Six Members of Boston Skating Club Killed in Midair Collision". [[Newsweek]].
8. "Legacy on Ice". U.S. Figure Skating.
9. "MAXIM NAUMOV'S emotional tribute to his parents Zhenya Shishkova and Vadim Naumov". New York Minute.
10. "Maxim Naumov makes US Winter Olympics team year after parents’ death in DC plane crash". The Guardian.
11. "Obituary Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov (RUS)".
12. link
13. link. solovieff.ru]]
14. (5 November 1995). "Russian newlyweds collect $30,000 toward new house". [[Toronto Star]].
15. Wilner, Barry. (20 March 1996). "Russians Win Pairs, Americans Get Bronze". [[Associated Press]].
16. Johnson, Paul H.. (6 July 1998). "Focused On Their Future; Russian Pair Is Skating Into Professional Ranks". [[Hartford Courant]].
17. Aldrich, Ian. (January–February 2008). "The Big Question: How to be a Champion Figure Skater; The training, endurance, and expenses of champions".
18. Hine, Tommy. (23 December 2006). "Different Holiday On Ice". [[Hartford Courant]].
19. "Evgenia Shishkova & Vadim Naumov".
20. Walker, Elvin. (11 March 2016). "Maxim Naumov continues a family tradition". IFS Magazine.
21. Elfman, Lois. (14 July 2016). "Shishkova, Naumov navigate parent-coach balance". [[IceNetwork.com]].
22. "Evgenia SHISHKOVA / Vadim NAUMOV". International Skating Union.
23. Zeghibe, Doug. (10 February 2017). "Coaching Announcement". Skating Club of Boston.