Boston (AP) – Maxim Naunov stopped in the middle of the ice, looked up towards the sky and patted his heart. Then he put a few words, in Russian, to his parents:
“It’s for you guys. You are with me. I love you both. ”
The former world champions of the Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova pairs died in January when Their plane crashed in a military helicopter As Washington approaches, DC, and fell into the Potomac icy river. In total, 67 people were killed, including more than two dozen who returned from a development camp after the American craft skating championships in Wichita, Kansas.
Maxim Naumov, who finished fourth at the national championships, had already returned home. From the crash, it has become in many ways the face of the tragedy – or at least its effect on the skating community.
“I don’t think I have crossed a corridor and that I have not given a hug since. And I have this support and this love,” he said on Sunday. “It was beyond everything I could have imagined. And it helps spend this day so much.
“It’s overwhelming,” he said. “But it makes my heart so full.”
Naunov, 23, patinated An advantage in Washington Earlier this month, which raised more than $ 1.2 million for the families of the victims. Addressing journalists on Sunday after playing the world championship gala, Naumov said that the moment he was on the ice gives his mind a chance to escape the tragedy.
“As soon as I hit the ice, my right brain-I don’t know if it’s a concentration or just a calm or a silence or what, but I feel like I will settle everything,” he said. “And I’m just talking to them, and they help me.
“I do not hear the crowd. I do not hear the advertisers, I do not hear anything. I just have this internal dialogue and I am just able to be almost calm and to be in my heart,” said Naumov. “And they are still there too. And whenever I think of them, especially when I’m on the ice, it really helps me, really going. “
The world championships, which had previously been planned at the home of the Boston Celtics and Bruins, drew renewed attention to the plane crash and Boston’s centenary skating club which was a House for the Olympians and recreational skaters.
There was A tribute WednesdaySandwich between the two sessions of the day and the frequent reminders of the tragedy.
Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who finished sixth in pairs this weekend, held photos of the members of the Boston Club who died in the accident: two young skaters, their mothers and the two coaches. American champion Rider Amber Glenn wore a t-shirt honoring the memory of all the young lost skaters.
Ilia Malinin, the “quad God” which won her second consecutive world championship Saturday evening, finished the show on Sunday with a performance which, according to him, was dedicated to the victims of the plane crash. He came at the end, tears with red and stifling eyes.
The introduction of Naunov identified him on Sunday as a member of the Boston Club and included his three fourth place in Nationals. He did not mention the accident, but many in the crowd surely knew his connection: he received not only the polite applause that welcomed most of the other skaters, but a second wave, with standing individuals to encourage him.
Wearing black pants without ornament and a scintillating black top, a gold chain moving around his neck while he slipped through the ice, Naumov gave a performance of gala aimed at more emotion than proof of athletic prowess.
The choice of music, the posthumous 2020 release of Mac Miller “That’s on Me”, was intentional. Miller died of an accidental drug overdose in 2018.
“Lately, for any reason – well, not for any reason – but lately, I have just listened to Mac Miller’s album” Circles “. Like a little and again and again, ”said Naumov. “And knowing the unfortunate story about it as an artist, it was very relatable.
“I relate to that, and I really feel deeply and emotionally what he is talking about in these songs. And it was also very useful to almost get my emotions in this way.”
When The skate was finishedNaunov took a deep inspiration, patted his heart again and waved in each direction. His arcs were deep and poignant. Leaving the ice after a standing ovation of a minute, he made the sign of the cross.
“There is a lot of emotions at the moment, and it is even difficult to put a name for what I’m currently feeling,” he said. “I feel so much support, and it’s very overwhelming.
“I have so much gratitude,” said Naumov. “And I am grateful for each of these fans.”
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