Who Is Ekaterina Gordeeva?

Ekaterina Gordeeva is a Russian ice skater who formed a partnership with her husband Sergei Grinkov. The pair went on to win two Olympic gold medals. After the death of her husband, Ekaterina Gordeeva continued to skate solo. She is a member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

  1. Early Life

    • Ekaterina Gordeeva was born May 28, 1971, in Moscow. She is the daughter of Elena Levovna Gordeeva and Alexander Alexeyevich Gordeeva. Her father was a folk dancer and her mother worked for the Soviet news agent Tass. Their jobs required a lot of travel and Ekaterina frequently spent a lot of time with her grandparents. Her father wanted her to be a ballerina, but she wanted to become a skater. Ekaterina began ice skating at the Central Army Club in Moscow when she was 4 years old and by the time she was 5, she was practicing four times a week. At the age of 11, she teamed with Sergei Grinkov, who was four years older than her.

    Early Skating Career

    • Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov entered the Junior World Championship in 1983 after just one year of training together and finished sixth. At the age of 13, she and Grinkov placed first at the Junior World Championship in 1984. In 1985, the pair trained under a new coach, Stanislav Zhuk, head coach at the Central Red Army Skating Club. Despite winning the European Championship, the pair parted ways with Zhuk due to differences in philosophy. Under new coach Stanislav Lenovich, Gordeeva and Grinkov won the Russian Nationals. In 1988, the duo took home the gold medal in the Winter Olympics in Calgary.

    Marriage

    • In 1991, Gordeeva and Grinkov turned professional and won the World Professional Championships. Late that year, they became man and wife. Soon after their marriage, Gordeeva became pregnant. While pregnant she continued to skate for several months and in September 1992 she gave birth to a girl, Daria. Less than a month after giving birth, Gordeeva went back to skating. Gordeeva and Grinkov skated professionally, touring with Stars on Ice. However, in 1993, the pair regained their amateur status so they could skate in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway, where they claimed their second gold medal.

    Tragedy

    • After the 1994 Winter Olympics, Gordeeva and Grinkov went back to skating professionally across America. Eventually the couple settled down in Simsbury, Connecticut. In 1994, they placed first at the World Professional Championship. In 1995, Gordeeva and Grinkov worked on preparing a new program. While doing a run-through in November 1995 at Lake Placid, New York, Grinkov, 28, fell on the ice and died of a heart attack.

    Life after Sergei Grinkov

    • In 1996, Gordeeva embarked on a solo career three months after her husband's death and paid tribute to her late husband in a televised performance called "Celebration of Life." She also wrote "My Sergei," a tribute to her life on and off the ice with Grinkov. Later in 1996, Gordeeva toured with the Stars on Ice show and appeared on a skating special that aired on CBS TV in 1997. She toured with Stars on Ice until 2000. In 1999, she started a relationship with Ilia Kulik, a men's figure skater who won a gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics. In 2001, Gordeeva gave birth to daughter Elizaveta. Kulik and Gordeeva wed in 2002.

    Awards

    • Gordeeva and Grinkov partnered for 14 years and won numerous titles, according to pairsonice.net. From 1983 to 1994, the duo entered 33 ice competitions, winning 23 events and finishing second six times. In addition to winning two Olympic medals, Gordeeva and Grinkov first won a championship in 1985 at the Skate Canada competition. The duo also won the World Championships in 1987, 1988 and 1989; European Championships in 1988 and 1990; and World Professional Championships in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994.