Was there ever a more beautiful love story on ice than that of Ekaterina Goordeva and Sergei Grinkov?
Theirs was a case of two skating as one. The 1988 and 1994 Olympic pairs champions were the epitome of the perfect team, on and off the ice. Sergei, tall and dashing, Katia petite and lovely, skated with the grace and ease of a couple in love, which in fact, they were. The couple fell in love in the late 1980s, married in 1991, and welcomed Daria into the world in 1992. The team won over legions of fans after the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, where they won their first Olympic gold medal. Katia's youthful joy and effervescence, along with Sergei's quiet grace and dashing good looks, endeared them to many. As they grew older and fell in love, their love and connection for each other was evident as they skated with such a warm intimacy and passion. Their feelings for each other fused with their love for skating translated to magical emotional experiences for audiences around the world.
After touring for several years with Stars on Ice, Katia and Sergei learned of an International Skating Union rule change, which allowed professional skaters to reinstate into the amateur ranks for the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. G&G decided to reinstate. Though Daria was still a baby, they decided that this was their last chance to compete at another Olympics. Katia and Sergei wanted to compete in another Olympics because 6 years had passed since their first Olympic win in Calgary (when they were only 16 and 21), and this time, now that they were older, and their relationship had evolved, they felt they could use the Games as an opportunity to experience the Olympics from a new perspective. They could experience it with each other as a married couple. They could skate for each other, and for Daria. They could share all the love they had for each other, for their daughter, and for their lives, with the whole world. In Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," they found the perfect vehicle to tell their story, and won their second Olympic gold medal.
Less than a year after their second Olympic win, tragedy struck. In 1995, at the age of 28, Sergei died of a heart attack, on the ice, with Katia by his side, during a practice for Stars on Ice in Lake Placid, NY. I was in 6th grade when I heard the news. I was at my grandmother's house after school, and she told me what she had heard on the television earlier that day. I remember feeling shock-waves of devastation roll through my body. They were my favorite pairs team. I couldn't imagine the skating world without them. I soon realized that the whole world felt this way. The world mourned over the loss of the young husband, father, and Olympic athlete. There was was a major outpouring of support for Katia and Daria.
Shortly after Sergei's death, I pulled out a tape of a performance they had skated to "The Man I Love" by Ella Fitzgerald. I remember watching that performance over and over in the mornings before school, silently honoring their exquisite skating as tears rolled down my cheeks. They were the epitome of romance on ice. With this passionate performance, I hope you will cherish G&G's skating and appreciate the one you love as much as Katia and Sergei did. Happy Valentine's Day!
For more on Katia and Sergei's love story, click HERE to view information about the book My Sergei, by Ekaterina Gordeeva with E.M. Swift.
Also, if you enjoyed this video, click HERE check out a previous post I did on G&G's "Sculptures" program to the music of "Vocalise" by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Their choreography is inspired by Rodin's sculptures.
You just like to make us cry, Susan. These two skate with an ethereal grace.
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