And it was, for obvious reasons, emotional for the 24-year-old American.
"Mom and Dad, this is for you," read on the big screen just before Maxim Naumov took to the ice for the short program. Under those circumstances, he performed one of his best short programs ever. Naumov said he felt like his parents were with him.
I felt their support at every break on the ice, he said.
He received 85.65 points and advanced to the free program on Friday.
A total of 67 people died in a plane crash in January last year after the aircraft collided with a military helicopter shortly before landing in Washington, D.C. Among them were many young figure skaters on their way home from a talent camp, and Maxim Naumov's parents, Evgeniya Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
What do you think?