Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov - Olympic Pair Skating Champions

Figure Skating - Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov
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A Spiral on Ice Hockey Skates
Jo Ann Schneider Farris
    Jo Ann Schneider Farris was a silver medalist in junior ice dancing at the 1975 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships and is the author of two books on skating
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    Jo Ann Schneider Farris
    Updated February 04, 2019

    Russian pair skaters Gordeeva and Grinkov won virtually every competition they entered. They won the Olympics in both 1988 and in 1994.

    Ekaterina's Date and Place of Birth: Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Gordeeva, also known as "Katia," was born on May 28, 1971 in Moscow.

    Sergei's Date of Birth: Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov was born on February 4, 1967.

    Gordeeva and Grinkov's Relationship

    Gordeeva and Grinkov began skating together as children. In the Soviet Union, certain children with athletic abilities were identified and sent to special schools. Gordeeva and Grinkov were chosen to be figure skaters. It was decided that both children would be pair skaters, not single skaters, so at the age of ten, Ekaterina was paired with Sergei who was fourteen at the time. They skated at the Central Red Army Club in Moscow. After the Olympics in 1988, Godeeva and Grinkov fell in love and were married in April of 1991. Grinkov and Gordeeva had one daughter, Daria, who was born on September 11, 1992 in New Jersey.

    Career Highlights

    Gordeeva and Grinkov's won the Olympics twice, they won the World Figure Skating Championship four times, and they won the European Championship three times. After Gordeeva and Grinkov were married, they toured with "Stars on Ice" in late 1991 through the spring of 1992.

    Sergei's Death and Ekaterina Gordeeva's Life Since

    Sergei Grinkov died suddenly of a heart attack on November 20, 1995 in Lake Placid, New York while rehearsing for a "Stars on Ice" tour. He was only twenty-eight years old at the time of his death.

    Ekaterina Gordeeva continues to skate. She is known for her grace on the ice and has skated with various partners.

    She has since married Ilia Kulik, 1998 Olympics Men's Figure Skating Champion. The couple has one daughter, Elizaveta Ilyinichna Kulik, who was born on June 15, 2001. They live in Avon, Connecticut.

    Gordeeva and her daughter, Daria, starred in the 1997 holiday movie "Snowden on Ice."

    Ekaterina does some coaching and choreography.