Ekaterina Gordeeva: success and bitter loss of the famous figure skater

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

In the 1980s, all Soviet TV viewers watched with delight every performance of the "golden couple". These two skaters - Sergei Grinkov and Ekaterina Gordeeva - impressed the enthusiastic people not only with their skills on the ice, but also with their personal relationships.

Sporty childhood

Katya Gordeeva was born in Moscow on May 28, 1971. Her father was a dancer, and her mother worked for TASS, so the family was we althy. Four years later, the couple had another daughter, Maria.

Parents sent Katerina to the Sports School of CSKA at the age of three. It was this step that determined her entire future fate. In 1981, young Ekaterina Gordeeva (photo shown below) met Sergei Grinkov at the rink. They trained each separately, but a year later they decided to pair them up, since both jumps were rather weak in order to be single skaters. They were coached by Vladimir Zakharov. But a year later, a new coach Nadezhda Shevalovskaya and a choreographer began to work with a young couple. After a short training in 1983, this pair of young skaters took part in the championshipworld and finished sixth.

The stunning victories began in 1984. This year, young skaters competed in the same international junior championship and won first place.

Bad performance

A few months later, in 1985, they went to a tournament in Canada, and the coach added a new triple salchow jump to their program. It was a difficult and rare trick at the time. Ekaterina Gordeeva could not resist and fell.

Continued success

After an unsuccessful trick, Katya did not give up and continued training and performing with a new coach. He led the couple to victory. In 1986, at the USSR and European Championships, Sergey and Katya received silver medals. But in the early spring of this year, at the World Championships, they deserved first place. Ekaterina Gordeeva not only became the world champion, she was also the youngest among all those who won before her. Now she and Sergei have become the idols of the Soviet audience. Without making their fans wait long, in the winter of 1987, the couple did something incredible, something that no one had done before them. It was a "four turn twist" and the commentators couldn't even believe their eyes. Interestingly, after the performance, Katya's pulse was more than 200 beats per minute. So the couple became champions of the USSR.

Test Year

In the late autumn of 1987, Sergei and Katya were training as usual, but something unexpected happened. Lifting his partner to support the "star", the skater caught on his skate, andKaterina fell from a height of almost three meters onto the ice. She hit her head badly and got a concussion. Sergei was very scared and, after his partner was able to train again, he completely changed. Now he has become stronger and more reliable to hold his dear partner, began to appreciate her, and the two skaters turned into a couple. The attitudes of young people have changed, they now valued each other.

Further career

Young figure skater Ekaterina Gordeeva with her partner in February 1988 at the Olympics received "gold". In addition to the fact that the girl was successful in her favorite business, she was included in the lists of the most beautiful people in the world. Having taken more than one first place, this couple went to the theater on ice to Tarasova Tatyana.

Ekaterina Gordeeva: personal life and bitter losses

Sergey and Katya loved each other, so in 1991 the skaters decided to get married. They got married, promising each other to love always. It was the happiest and most successful couple. They have always filmed together. Catherine was radiant, because both in her career and in her personal life she succeeded. In 1992, the young couple had a daughter, Daria. The family moved to America. Life was turning out for the best. In addition, in 1994, the skaters received another Olympic victory. But this happiness could not last.

At the end of November 1995, the young family went to another training session, which took place in Lake Placid. Sergei suddenly became ill. He was hospitalized and died in the hospital. He had an extensiveheart attack. Together with Katya, the whole world mourned the loss. She left a three-year-old daughter Dasha, who was very similar to her father.

A year later, Ekaterina Gordeeva published the book "My Sergei …", in which she described all the bright memories and her subsequent grief.

And then what…

Katya returned to the ice in 1996. It was skating that helped the young star survive this grief. She competed until 2000. After that, the skater ended her sports career and began to take part in the show with different partners.

At the Stars On Ice show, Ekaterina met figure skater Ilya Kulik, who became her new partner. In 2001 they got married. The family stayed in America, and in 2002 the couple had a daughter, Elizabeth.

It is worth noting that a documentary film was made about the famous figure skater Ekaterina Gordeeva in 1998. Katya also published a second book called "Letter to Daria".