Evgenia Shishkova

Evgenia Vasilievna Shishkova (; 18 December 1972 – 29 January 2025) was a Russian figure skating coach and competitor. With her husband Vadim Naumov, she was the 1994 world champion and the 1995–96 Champions Series Final champion.

Shishkova died on 29 January 2025, when American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter while the jet was on approach to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Career Shishkova and Naumov were introduced in 1985 by Naumov's coach who wanted them to skate together.

Shishkova/Naumov won their third World Championships' medal, which was silver at the 1995 World Championships in Birmingham, England. Despite skating a clean free program, they lost to a flawed free skate by the eventual winners Kovarikova & Novotny. From 1991 to 1995, the pair also won five European Championships medals. After withdrawing from the 1996 European Championships due to a severe ear infection suffered by Evgenia, in February 1996 they won gold at the 1995–96 Champions Series Final (later renamed the Grand Prix Final) in Paris. At the 1996 World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Shishkova/Naumov were third after the short program. In the long program, four judges gave first-place votes to Marina Eltsova / Andrei Bushkov who finished as gold medalists. Four judges voted in favor of Shishkova/Naumov, however, low scores from the other five judges left them off the podium in 4th place. They were returning from Wichita, Kansas, where they participated in a development camp for young skaters, days following the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The Skating Club of Boston, where the couple coached, had six skaters who died in the crash. Their son, Maxim, who had competed at the U.S. Championships, was not on board the plane, having flown out of Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport two days before the crash took place. On March 2, 2025, U.S. Figure Skating held the ice show Legacy on Ice, which paid tribute to Shishkova and the other victims that were killed aboard American Eagle Flight 5342. Maxim performed to Shishkova and Naumov's favorite song, "Город, которого нет (The City That Doesn't Exist)" by Igor Kornelyuk, to honor his parents.

In January 2026, Maxim fulfilled his and his parents' dreams by making the 2026 Winter Olympic team. "I would not be sitting here without the unimaginable work, effort and love from my parents," said Naumov after being named to the team. "It means absolutely everything to me, fulfilling the dream that we collectively had as a family since I first was on the ice at five years old. So it means absolutely everything. And I know they’re looking down, smiling and proud."

Programs

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 1998–99 (PRO) Summer of '42 Il trovatore Nocturne Summertime Estoy Loco (from Paulie OST) 1997–98 Toccata and Fugue Don Quixote Ave Maria 1996–97 Ave Maria Meditation Act 1, No. 2 Cavatina: Largo al factotum 1995–96 Don Quixote Act 1, No. 2 Cavatina: Largo al factotum Danse des petits cygnes 1994–95 Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso Unfinished Symphony Chi Mai Act 1, No. 2 Cavatina: Largo al factotum 1993–94 Die Fledermaus Take Five Flight of the Bumblebee 1992–93 Colonel Bogey March Slap That Bass The Entertainer Nature Boy 1991–92 Take FiveMedley: La Festa Degli Angeli(Concerto No.3, RV 310) Industrial Revolution, Pt. 1 Old Fashion The Entertainer 1990–91 I Dub U

Competitive highlights GP: Champions Series (Grand Prix)

With Naumov: Soviet Union (URS): Start of career through December 1991 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS): 1992 European and World Championships Unified Team at the Olympics (EUN): 1992 Olympics Russia (RUS): 1992–93 to end of career