Maxim Naumov channels loss for powerful skate at nationals in Olympic bid

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Maxim Naumov channels loss for powerful skate at nationals in Olympic bid

ST. LOUIS, Missouri – Maxim Naumov finished his short program and sat on a white sofa in the area where skaters wait to hear their scores.

With the cameras on him, Naumov held up a photograph of a little boy in white skates standing between two adults on an ice rink in Connecticut. Each adult was holding one of the little boy’s hands to prevent him from falling, the way parents do when their child needs support.

He kissed the photograph - once, twice, three times.

The little boy in the picture was Naumov, who was being introduced to the ice at about age 3.

The adults were his mother, Evgenia Shishkova, and his father, Vadim Naumov, the former pairs world champions and two-time Olympians who had been his coaches until last January 29.

That was the day Max's parents were among the 67 people who died when a U.S. Army helicopter hit their American Airlines jet, which crashed into the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.

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Sophie Joline von Felten heads to figure skating nationals free from Olympic pressure

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Sophie Joline von Felten heads to figure skating nationals free from Olympic pressure

Ice skating had been a big part of Inna von Felten’s childhood in Russia.

Her father, Yuri, was a city speedskating champion in Moscow. And when Soviet sports officials visited her kindergarten to look for potential athletes, a key part of the country’s talent identification system, they thought the smallish Inna fit the physical parameters for a pairs figure skater. She would skate pairs from age 4 to 13, her competitive career ended by a knee injury.

Yet the initial motivation for Inna to have her only child, Sophie Joline, try figure skating came from elsewhere.

Inna and her Swiss husband, Daniel von Felten, were on a Christmas holiday trip to Paris when they saw a pop-up seasonal rink on the Champs-Elysees. The setting was so magical Inna imagined skating there one day with her daughter, and she found out young children were allowed on the adult part of the rink with a parent if they could skate unassisted.

“I had her try skating to make my wish come true,” Inna said.

What followed was a clear example of needing to be a little careful about what you wish for. The wish has morphed into a dream come true for her daughter, and it has turned the family’s life into a bi-continental adventure.

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In memoir, skating champion Nicole Bobek confronts her past head-on, frightening details and all

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In memoir, skating champion Nicole Bobek confronts her past head-on, frightening details and all

 It's wild how fast life can flip. On minute, you’re center ice with the world at your feet. . .The next you're barefoot in a Florida jail cell shaking so hard you can't even hold the phone steady enough to dial your mom, let alone speak when she answers.

--Nicole Bobek in her new memoir, “Bobek: The Wild One”

 I texted Nicole Bobek last month to let her know I had received the review copy of her book.  She replied, “You might wanna put on your seatbelt for this one.”

Indeed.  As the except quoted above (and several to follow) illustrates, the figure skating champion’s life (lives?) has been a bumpy ride, with more than one crash landing.

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A season of tragedy and triumph for U.S. figure skaters

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A season of tragedy and triumph for U.S. figure skaters

The figure skating season that ended nine days ago at the World Team Trophy in Japan was one of overwhelming tragedy and historic triumph for Team USA.

The tragedy happened Jan. 27, when 28 members of the U.S. figure skating family were among the 67 people who died in a crash between their plane and a military helicopter near Washington, D.C.

Among the 28 with ties to the skating community were 11 young skaters, plus some of their parents and coaches, all returning from a development camp following the U.S. Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

At that point, with a pall hanging over them and hearts heavy with pain, the top U.S. skaters still had nearly three months left in the season, with three championship events left:  Four Continents, World Championships and World Team Trophy.

For nearly all of them, going back to practice was both incredibly difficult and necessary, as the U.S. elite sought ways to honor the memories of those who had died by honoring the sport they all loved with their best efforts.

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Sarah Everhardt goes from scene stealer to spotlight at U.S. Figure Skating Champs

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Sarah Everhardt goes from scene stealer to spotlight at U.S. Figure Skating Champs

Sarah Everhardt’s expected role at last year’s Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships seemed to be like that of an extra on a movie set, there to fill out a scene … or, in this case, the field for a competition.

After all, it was Everhardt’s national debut at the senior level, and she had finished 13th and 11th at the junior level the previous seasons, and her results leading up to the 2024 event were unremarkable.

So who could have foreseen Everhardt turning into a bit of a scene stealer as she finished fourth overall and third in the free skate? She did it with two clean programs (no negative grades of execution) for the first time in her career, according to skatingscores.com.

“I know I have it in me,” Everhardt said via Zoom. “When I go to a competition, I know that I’m capable of skating clean, doing my best. So I always just try to use that confidence going in.”

After a solid international season this fall, with a first and second in two Challenger Series events, Everhardt goes into this week’s nationals in Wichita, Kansas as one of a half-dozen medal contenders in a competition that became even more wide open when reigning world silver medalist Isabeau Levito withdrew last week with a foot injury.

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