Maxim Nomov skates Olympic debut amid profound loss (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: 24-year-old figure skater Maxim Nomov received a standing ovation at his debut Olympics just one year after losing his parents. Nomov competed in the men's short program where he earned an 85.65 and produced one of the most defining and emotional moments of the Olympics so far. Nomov's parents Vadim Nomov and Yevgenia Shishkova, Olympian figure skaters and his coaches, were killed in a plane crash in January 2025. They were among 67 people who lost their lives when an American Airlines jet collided mid-air with an army helicopter in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, it made me grow up really fast. And after taking some time, Nomov got to work. He took over their job as director of their skating club Tomorrow's Champions, then assembled new coaches and began training again.

[00:00:44] Speaker 2: Lacing up those skates for the first time was one of the most difficult things I've ever done in my life. But as soon as I stepped onto the ice, just the overwhelming support, the hugs, the tears, the path to healing was in doing the difficult things.

[00:00:58] Speaker 1: Nomov won bronze in free skate during the U.S. Championships, which secured his spot at the Winter Olympics and achieved his parents' goals for him.

[00:01:06] Speaker 2: Told them that we did it. We did it and we made it. I pray they're smiling down on me now. I really wish anything in the world for them to be there. The value of resilience in our family, never giving up, pushing and gritting your teeth and fighting tooth and nail for every single thing that you possibly can. And I know that whatever it is that life throws at me, I'll be still standing.