# Maxim Naumov

Maxim Naumov (born August 1, 2001) is an American figure skater. He is a three-time U.S. national pewter medalist and the 2020 U.S. junior national champion. Naumov finished within the top five at the 2020 World Junior Championships.

## Personal life

   "Once again, Maxim made us all proud, getting on to the podium at Nationals after 7th place in the short. This beautiful and emotional performance is a result of a team work. Huge thanks to Serhii and Irina Vaypan and of course to Adam Blake for his wonderful choreography of a classic! Maxim has earned his place in the team of 4 Continents. 👏🏻👍🏻💪🏻😄🎊"
Maxim Naumov was born on August 1, 2001, in Hartford, Connecticut. His parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were the 1994 World Champions in pairs for Russia. Naumov previously competed in gymnastics as a child. After graduating from Simsbury High School in 2019, he began attending ASU Online.
Naumov has cited his figure skating influences as being Olympic champions Evgeni Plushenko and Yuzuru Hanyu, as well as his parents.
On January 29, 2025, Naumov's parents, who were passengers onboard the American Eagle Flight 5342, were killed in the Potomac River mid-air collision. Days prior the tragedy, the couple expressed pride over their son's fourth-place finish at the 2025 U.S. Championships, which had recently taken place, via their joint Instagram account. Naumov subsequently took over coaching his late father's students at the Skating Club of Boston.

## Career
### Early years

Naumov began skating at age five after being inspired by his parents. He is the 2013 U.S. national juvenile and the 2017 U.S. national novice champion, as well as the 2016 U.S. national novice and 2018 U.S. national junior bronze medalist. At the advanced novice level, Naumov is also the 2016 Gardena Trophy and 2017 International Challenge Cup champion.
Naumov made his junior international debut at the 2017 Philadelphia Summer International, winning the silver medal behind Ryan Dunk. He made his Junior Grand Prix debut at 2017 JGP Latvia, where he finished eighth. Naumov did not compete during the 2018–19 season due to injury.

### 2019–20 season

Naumov returned to competition in June 2019 after missing the previous season due to injury. Competing on the 2019–20 ISU Junior Grand Prix, he placed seventh at 2019 JGP France.
Naumov won the junior title at the 2020 U.S. Championships. He landed two triple axels in his free skate and achieved a Level 4 on three elements. After attending the U.S. junior camp, he was named to the U.S. team for the 2020 World Junior Championships, alongside Ilia Malinin and Andrew Torgashev. At the 2020 World Junior Championships, he placed tenth in the short and fourth in the free to finish fifth overall.

### 2020–21 season

Naumov started his season competing at the ISP Points Challenge, a virtual domestic competition for prize money, berths to the national championships, and future international assignments. Naumov competed in the senior men's event, placing sixth in both segments of the competition and seventh overall among ten skaters.
With the coronavirus pandemic raging, Naumov was assigned to make his senior Grand Prix debut at the 2020 Skate America, an event scheduled for skaters training in the United States and held in Las Vegas. He placed eighth at the event.
Naumov next competed at the 2021 U.S. Championships, also held in Las Vegas, where he placed fifth in both segments and overall.

### 2021–22 season

Naumov won the bronze medal at the Skating Club of Boston's Cranberry Cup event, and then came sixth at the 2021 U.S. Classic.

### 2022–23 season

Naumov appeared twice on the Challenger circuit in the fall, finishing fifth at both the 2022 CS Budapest Trophy and the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup. Sixth after the short program at the 2023 U.S. Championships, he rose to fourth in the free skate and won the pewter medal. This in turn earned him an assignment to the 2023 Four Continents Championships. He finished tenth at Four Continents.

### 2023–24 season

Beginning the season at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial, Naumov placed eleventh. On the Grand Prix, he was tenth at the 2023 Skate America.
In advance of the 2024 U.S. Championships, Naumov was preemptively named as first alternate for the American team for the 2024 Four Continents Championships, which were to occur in Shanghai the week after the national championships. Naumov finished second in the short program at the national championships, in what was considered a surprise result. He dropped to fourth place after coming fourth in the free skate, winning a second consecutive national pewter medal. He subsequently replaced Camden Pulkinen on the Four Continents team, and finished twelfth the following weekend.

### 2024–25 season

Naumov started the season at the 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where he finished in eleventh place. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit at 2024 Skate America, he was seventh of twelve men. Naumov assessed his performance as "technically similar" to his appearance at the Nebelhorn Trophy, explaining that his quadruple jumps were improved in practices "so the consistency is getting there but I'm still lacking a lot of confidence on the actual program run. It's a natural progression so I'm feeling it will get better and better." He was later given a second assignment on the Challenger circuit, placing eighth at the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup.
At the 2025 U.S. Championships in Wichita, Naumov won his third consecutive pewter medal. His only notable error came in the free skate when failing to execute his planned quadruple Salchow jump, which he said he was "definitely bummed about," but added "I'm overall happy with how I did everything." Three days following the conclusion of the championships, Naumov's parents remained in Wichita to participate in a development camp for young skaters. They were part of a group of camp participants who were traveling home on American Eagle Flight 5342, which collided mid-air with a US Army Black Hawk over the Potomac River and crashed, resulting in the deaths of all onboard. Although assigned to the American team for the 2025 Four Continents Championships, Naumov subsequently withdrew.
On March 2, 2025, Naumov took part in Legacy on Ice, an ice show organized by U.S. Figure Skating that paid tribute to lives lost aboard American Eagle Flight 5342. He honored his parents' memory by performing to "Город, которого нет (The City That Doesn't Exist)" by Igor Kornelyuk, which was their favorite song. Naumov received a standing ovation following his performance.

## Programs

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2024–25 | Steppin' Out with My Baby by Tony Bennett choreo. by Adam Blake | Tosca by Giacomo Puccini choreo. by Adam Blake Adagio for Tron The Grid (from Tron: Legacy) by Daft Punk Blow Your Mind by Will Sparks choreo. by Adam Blake | Город, которого нет (from Bandit Petersburg) by Igor Kornelyuk Ants Marching by Dave Matthews Band |
| 2023–24 | Glimpse of Us by Joji choreo. by Adam Blake | Tosca by Giacomo Puccini choreo. by Adam Blake | Wherever I May Roam by Metallica |
| 2022–23 | Glimpse of Us by Joji choreo. by Adam Blake | Iron Shadows by Woodkid Loyal by ODESZA choreo. by Adam Blake | Galaxy by War Controversy by Prince |
| 2020–22 | Run by Joji choreo. by Adam Blake | Unstoppable by E.S. Posthumus Stabat Mater by Woodkid choreo. by Adam Blake | |
| 2019–20 | Uprising by Muse choreo. by Adam Blake | Who Wants to Live Forever by Brian May performed by The Tenors choreo. by Evgenia Shishkova, Matthew Gates | |
| 2017–18 | Luck Be a Lady by Frank Loesser performed by Frank Sinatra choreo. by Evgenia Shishkova, Matthew Gates | Who Wants to Live Forever by Brian May performed by The Tenors choreo. by Evgenia Shishkova, Matthew Gates | |
| 2016–17 | Maybe I Maybe You by Scorpions choreo. by Adam Blake | Spanish Flame by Maxime Rodriguez choreo. by Adam Blake | |
| 2015–16 | Feeling Good performed by Michael Bublé choreo. by Adam Blake | 300 Violin Orchestra by Jorge Quintero choreo. by Adam Blake | |

## Competitive highlights

* GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
* JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
* CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| Four Continents Championships | | | 10th | 12th | |
| U.S. Championships | 5th | | 4th | 4th | 4th |
| GP Skate America | 8th | | | 10th | 7th |
| CS Budapest Trophy | | | 5th | | |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | | | | | 11th |
| CS Nepela Memorial | | | | 11th | |
| CS Warsaw Cup | | | 5th | | 8th |
| Cranberry Cup | | 3rd | | | |
| U.S. Classic | | 6th | | | |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2017–18 | 2019–20 |
| World Junior Championships | | 5th |
| U.S. Championships | 3rd | 1st |
| JGP France | | 7th |
| JGP Latvia | 8th | |
| Philadelphia Summer | 2nd | |

## Detailed results

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 227.17 | 2022 CS Budapest Trophy |
| Short program | TSS | 87.11 | 2022 CS Budapest Trophy |
| Short program | TES | 47.01 | 2022 CS Budapest Trophy |
| Short program | PCS | 40.10 | 2022 CS Budapest Trophy |
| Free skating | TSS | 149.90 | 2020 World Junior Championships |
| Free skating | TES | 75.98 | 2020 World Junior Championships |
| Free skating | PCS | 80.52 | 2022 CS Budapest Trophy |
* At national events in the United States, pewter medals are awarded for fourth place.

### Senior level

Results in the 2020–21 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 23–24, 2020 | 2020 Skate America | 8 | 70.91 | 4 | 143.56 | 8 | 214.27 |
| Jan 11–21, 2021 | 2021 U.S. Championships | 5 | 83.53 | 5 | 160.67 | 5 | 244.20 |
Results in the 2021–22 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 11–15, 2021 | 2021 Cranberry Cup International | 6 | 73.64 | 3 | 149.51 | 3 | 223.15 |
| Sep 14–17, 2021 | 2021 U.S. International Classic | 5 | 69.99 | 4 | 137.40 | 6 | 207.39 |
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 14–16, 2022 | 2022 CS Budapest Trophy | 1 | 87.11 | 5 | 140.06 | 5 | 227.17 |
| Nov 17–20, 2022 | 2022 CS Warsaw Cup | 5 | 76.17 | 5 | 142.81 | 5 | 218.98 |
| Jan 23–29, 2023 | 2023 U.S. Championships | 6 | 77.71 | 4 | 171.43 | 4 | 249.14 |
| Feb 7–12, 2023 | 2023 Four Continents Championships | 8 | 75.96 | 9 | 142.75 | 10 | 218.71 |
Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 28–30, 2023 | 2023 CS Nepela Memorial | 11 | 70.05 | 12 | 131.66 | 11 | 201.71 |
| Oct 20–22, 2023 | 2023 Skate America | 10 | 70.73 | 9 | 139.80 | 10 | 210.53 |
| Jan 22–28, 2024 | 2024 U.S. Championships | 2 | 89.72 | 4 | 170.78 | 4 | 260.50 |
| Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | 15 | 67.61 | 9 | 147.39 | 12 | 215.00 |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 18–21, 2024 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 15 | 63.01 | 11 | 136.29 | 11 | 199.30 |
| Oct 18–20, 2024 | 2024 Skate America | 8 | 73.11 | 7 | 143.27 | 7 | 216.38 |
| Nov 20–24, 2024 | 2024 CS Warsaw Cup | 5 | 75.77 | 12 | 117.92 | 8 | 193.69 |
| Jan 20–26, 2025 | 2025 U.S. Championships | 7 | 82.41 | 3 | 165.75 | 4 | 248.16 |

### Junior level

Results in the 2017–18 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 3–5, 2017 | 2017 Philadelphia Summer International | 2 | 60.40 | 2 | 114.69 | 2 | 175.09 |
| Sep 6–9, 2017 | 2017 JGP Latvia | 9 | 57.64 | 9 | 106.02 | 8 | 163.66 |
| Dec 29, 2017 – Jan 8, 2018 | 2018 U.S. Championships | 3 | 64.07 | 4 | 114.93 | 3 | 179.00 |
Results in the 2019–20 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 21–24, 2019 | 2019 JGP France | 6 | 63.47 | 8 | 115.68 | 7 | 179.15 |
| Jan 20–26, 2020 | 2020 U.S. Championships | 1 | 70.75 | 2 | 136.17 | 1 | 206.92 |
| Mar 2–8, 2020 | 2020 World Junior Championships | 10 | 75.20 | 4 | 149.90 | 5 | 225.10 |