Since the plane crash that killed his parents, figure skater Maxim Naumov has become in many ways the face of the tragedy.

In a stunning return to the sport, Alysa Liu became the first American woman to win a world championship in 19 years in Boston on Friday.

Liu became the first American women’s figure skating world champion in nearly two decades, dethroning three-time defending champ Kaori Sakamoto with a brilliant free skate Friday night. Her program to a rendition of “MacArthur Park” by Boston native Donna Summer earned her a standing ovation, and allowed Liu to finish with 222.97 points.

BOSTON — Alysa Liu is the first U.S. women’s singles figure skater to win a world title in 19 years, capping a comeback season after a two-year retirement. Liu, 19, had the top short program and free skate scores for 222.97 total points. She prevailed over three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan by 4.99. Mone Chiba of Japan earned bronze.

A 25-year-old from Plano, Texas, who was unbeaten heading into worlds, Glenn landed that same triple axel in her free skate. She made a minor mistake on her triple lutz-double toe combination, and had to change up a couple of jumps for simpler options in the middle of the program, but she still posted a solid free-skate score of 138.00 points.

Naumov lost his parents and skating coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova in the Washington D.C. plane crash in January.

Day 3 of the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships came to an end on Friday, with some hardware handed out. U.S. skater Alysa Liu wrapped up a stellar free skate performance, earning a gold medal and becoming the first American women's figure skating world champion since 2006.