Link to the video

This is her first performance, which took place one year after his death. Her husband and partner, Sergey Grinkov, the two time Olympic champion in pair skating died 15 years ago, in the fall of 1995. On this footage you can see his widow, Ekaterina Gordeeva, skating her first solo performance. For the first time in her life she is skating here alone. It took her one year before she found courage to step on the ice and share her pain with the audience. She was looking for a support and spectators did share her grief with her.

Katia: “It was a good chance for me to show my feelings on the ice, through a performance”.

This performance became Katia’s first step into a different life. Her previous life, which was abruptly cut off, had been an endless woman’s happiness.

Katia: “I was always sure of him. And now, when so many years passed, I realize how difficult it is to encounter this in life, to experience this… The feeling of confidence is what a woman would want to find in a man. There are not so many women who can say this about their men”

Their romance started on the eve of the most important sports event, the first Olympics in their lives. 1988, Kalgari, when everything coincided: the first Olympic gold medal and the first love in the lives of Gordeeva and Grinkov. It was simply impossible to hide such feelings or conceal them from other people’s eyes.

Katia: “The pleasure we were getting from each other and from skating with each other was conveyed [to other people]”.

Everything in their lives was developing very quickly, as if there were premonitions of a soon misfortune. They got married, their daughter was born already one year after the Olympic games. Then there was their second Olympics in 1994. The amazing lifts Gordeeva and Grinkov were doing took the audience’s breath away. Nobody could even guess that the obligatory elements that the skaters were doing so beautifully and effortlessly were approaching the tragic end. To all appearances, already at that time any physical exersice was probably strongly counter-indicative to Sergey’s health. However, nobody knew about it. Neither Katia and Sergey did.

An interview.
“What are your plans for the future?”
Katia: “I think that we will continue to skate, raise our daughter. We will try to bring her up now by ourselves, without [relying too much on the] help of her grandparents. There are many [interesting] things awaiting us in the future. We hope so.”
Sergey: “Yes. I think that we need to take some rest before we decide what we shall do in the future”.

However, Katia would be raising their daughter alone.

Katia: “About half a year before it happened, he suffered from the pain in his back. The pain was so strong that sometimes he could not skate. We did injections and were checking his back all the time but the pain did not go, no matter what we tried.”

Artur: “Already before it [happened], when we were competing together in Lillehammer where they were first and we were second, I noticed how [abnormally] pale he was after their program. White as a sheet. I thought that they might have been not [properly] prepared physically. A thought slipped through my mind that something could have been wrong with his health. But then I thought it could be caused by him being nervous: it often happens that a person may look very pale when he is nervous. But there definitely were signs, which probably went unnoticed in due time”.

When other people several times told Sergey Grinkov that he looked too pale, he dismissed the observation, saying that for example he had not slept properly. In fact, there could have been numerous insignificant reasons [for the occasional paleness], as nobody could even imagine that a two-time Olympic champion who was accustomed to sweating from morning till night could have some health problems. However, the life had an opinion of its own and in one and half years after their triumph in Lillehammer…

Katia: “He lied down on the ice. I was absolutely sure that something happened to his back. It was only our coach, Zoueva, who immediately realized that something went very wrong”

When Marina Zoueva rushed to Sergey, she took it in at once: [something has happened to] his heart. Sergey did not breathe. An ambulance arrived very quickly, less then in ten minutes. It took other ten minutes to bring Grinkov to intensive care. However, any efforts were already useless. The last words Ekaterina Gordeeva heard from her husband still on the ice were “I feel very bad”. A massive infarct. Doctors could not rescue him. They said that a day before he did survive another micro-infarct, which nobody noticed: neither Ekaterina, nor coachers, nor Sergey himself. His heart stopped before his skates were taken off.

Katia: ”During the first weeks I felt a shock and could not believe it. I woke up in the morning, the thought struck me again, I asked myself a question, if it was true or not”

Sergey Grinkov died at 28. Katia was left with a four-years old daughter Dasha on her hands.

Katia: “First of all – a guilt. Of course, there was my guilt. I don’t understand why but I was guilty for Daria and Sergey’s mother…”

It was very difficult for Ekaterina to live through that tragedy. Her close people were advising her not to keep the pain inside and Katia decided to write a book as a tribute to her husband. Every day throughout one year she was remembering all her life with Sergey.

Katia: “I was getting the load off my mind [when writing the book], which made me feel very tired. But later I was realizing that I needed it anyhow. I would anyway do it at some point of my life. May be not in a form of a book. May be this process would take more time then, but since it happened “artificially”… I needed it”

The feeling of responsibility was another factor, which prevented Katia from shrinking to herself or breaking down. She was responsible for her daughter before herself, Sergey’s mother and Sergey himself. Gradually, step by step Ekaterina Gordeeva returned to normal life.

Katia: “After 3, 4 or 5 years I undestood that I must move on. [I was] struggling to turn the page. But only after 10 years I realized that I was not constantly thinking of him and stopped comparing [other men] to him”

Moscow. Filming the Ice Age show. Time is healing. Katia’s story proves this fact. She was doing what she was supposed to do: raising her daughter, skating new programs. And life itself showed her the road to take. Eight years ago Katia gave birth to the second daughter. Her husband is a famous skater, an Olympic champion Ilia Kulik. They live in America and together raise their daughters, Liza Kulik and Dasha Grinkova. Daria Sergeevna Grinkova.

Today, the schedule of Ekgaterina Gordeeva is very tight and booked for many months ahead. She is still in strong demand and she is happy. She did not forget Sergey Grinkov but learnt to live without him. The former, happy life lives in Katia’s memories. Warm and tender memories.

Katia: “He [lives] in my memory or I anyway feel that somehow he is near to me all the time. This goes without saying. This will never change and I don’t want it to change”

It was the most moving pair in the history of figure skating. She was like a phantom soaring over the ice – half an acrobat, half a ballerina. He was like a strong hand controlling that wonderful performance.

They were deeply in love with each other. But on November, 20 1995 their romantic story turned into a tragedy. The figure skater died of an extensive heart attack during their ice practice. He was only 28. His name was Sergei Grinkov.
Sergei was born 1967 in Moscow. His mother, who admired figure skating, took her 5 year old son to the CSKA. But he was too far from being an ideal candidate, but still coach welcomed him. Figure skating group lacked boys – they all chose hockey. Sergei Cheskidov became his “godfather”, his first coach.

Sergei Cheskidov says: “If I was then told he would become an Olympic champion, I would burst out laughing.”

As a child, Sergei put his parents, teachers and coaches to a lot of troubles – he was a restless boy. His school diary was marked up with such remarks as “Failed to do his homework”, “Laughed at the lesson” etc. Teachers got angry at Sergei, but he could not realize that his cheerful nature irritated someone.

Alexander Gorelik (merited master of sports) commented: “I remember him always smiling. He never was peacocky”.
Sergei smiled and laughed a lot – as a boy he was nicknamed “Smile”. On the eve of his tragic death Sergei was also in a good mood. But he was a little bit pale, though nobody noticed it.

Sergei had being skating for more than 10 years but he didn’t want to devote all his life to sports. He planned to enter institute of humanities after school. But his mother persuaded her 14 year old son to keep up figure skating. Sergei was a single skater and never thought of a partner. In 1981 Vladimir Zakharov told Sergei that he found a girl for him to skate in a pair. Serezha was upset.

Cheskidov comments: “Pair skating is the most challenging kind of figure skating. You have to be perfect at elements of single skating and also learn special pair elements. Of course a boy should be strong to resist heavy loads”.
“What’s wrong, Seryoga?” – His friends asked him. “They found a partner for me.” – sighed Sergei. That was the way 10 year old Katia Gorgeeva came to Grinkov’s life.

Later Katia recalls: “Seryozha seemed to me an ordinary boy, who was too high. But he never treated me with disdain though he was 4.5 years older. When I failed to do something on ice he never got angry – instead he used to say: Katia, sit down and have a rest and then you will do it.” He was careful and tender with me.”

Cheskidov says: “A girl falls during ice practice – Sergei comes at once and helps her to rise”.

At first Sergei undertrained hoping that his attitude would show the coach he didn’t want to be a pair skater. When the coach lost his patience he asked the parents of young skaters to come to him and said there were only two options – either Sergei skate together or he would dismiss Sergei from the group. So, Sergei’s idea to turn back to singles failed. But still he didn’t want to give up skating. That day Katia called him and asked whether they could go walking together…
They walked for hours and talked about everything: school, music, figure skating…As a result Katia and Sergei continued to skate in duet.

A. Gorelik: “Katia was always disciplined and professional. We never had to remind her to wipe skates, her performance dresses were always neat. So she was a “disciplining part” of their pair, if not the leader”.

Then Gordeeva and Grinkov didn’t know they would become 2-time Olympic champions and gain love of millions of fans all over the world. Rivals and reporters would admire them as well. They felt each other on the ice. After Sergei’s death Katia said: “I could not imagine myself skating not feeling Seryozha’s hands, not looking into his eyes. I can not skate with another partner. It was impossible to think that somebody else would touch me on ice. The only hands I felt since I was 11 were Sergei’s hands”.

It was under guidance of S. Zhuk that G&G won their first gold medals – in 1984 at junior world championship in Colorado Springs. But then the CSKA management tried to press Zhuk to refuse from the promising skaters. Of course he said “no”. Then they threatened to recruit Sergei to the army if they didn’t leave Zhuk.

Nina Zhuk: “Their parents came crying, but still G&G were passed to another coach”.

It was Marina Zueva. In 1986 they were again the first at the world championship and only two years later Katia and Sergei got gold in Calgary. Newspapers called Sergei a giant and Katia – a Tiny Sweet. An American skater Peter Gohergar (translator: can’t hear his name) was emotional about them: “Their skating was perfect. It was ballet on ice, a pure blend of strength, artistry and elegance”. The US team coach John Nix said he was impressed how an 80-kg man could glide over the ice absolutely soundless and tenderly handle his partner.
Nobody could imagine his wonderful dance would one day break on ice…

At that Olympics G&G were called the most romantic pair skaters. There was something more than just friendship between them outside ice-rink. But only a year later, on the NY eve Sergei opened his heart to Katia. Later Katia recalled: “We were sitting at the table, he poured vodka for me in a short glass, I felt a bit uneasy and saw he was going to say something. Then Sergei asked: Why don’t we kiss? It was not a question, indeed. He felt I was dreaming about it. So he kissed me in my lips…I said: Seriozha, why have you chosen me? I am a teen-ager…I am not that pretty…My body is not perfect at all…Sergei pressed my lips and answered: You are mistaken. You are 17, your body is beautiful and I love you just as you are.”

Several months later Katia and Sergei decided to get married. But they had to postpone the wedding. In spring’ 90 Sergei’s farther died of a heart attack. So their civil and church marriage took place next year.

Farther Nikolay: “Katyusha was such a young girl. She was only 18 or 19. She told me she had a sweetheart who offered his hand to her. I was pleased she let me into her secrets. I suggested they got married in church as they both were orthodox”.

The wedding was appointed for April, 20 1991. And Sergei was hardly in time. A few days before he had his arm operated in the USA and his flight back was delayed. Katia and parents worried a lot…

Cheskidov: “Some people were sorry for Katia, because Sergei – yes, he was a kind-hearted guy, but absent-minded. And you need feeling secure for family life.”

But Sergei could not live without adventures. When he and Katia came to the registry office, it turned out that he had forgotten his passport. But the officers forgave the young man and did the procedure.
In September Katia and Sergei became happy parents.

A.Gorelik: “Such marriages are possible not only in figure skating between the partners. Something very special happens in heaven…Their family was so sweet, Dasha was born. She is now skating and performing at the US championships, by the way.”

When Sergei passed away, little Daria said to her mother: “My daddy is in heaven. Mummy, please, ask God to let my farther see me.” Then Katia addressed a psychologist to explain to Daria what had happened.

G&G had already turned pro and were performing in American ice shows as they got married. It was then popular among soviet sportsmen to work abroad as they could make money and see other countries.

A.Gorelik: “To win the Olympics, then to leave sports and to become parents, to come back and again win the Olympics – it’s a sports feat. The symbols of ‘88 and ‘94 – eight years between the two triumphs.” The second Olympics were more challenging for them: Sergei did a mistake in a jump, but then they compensated it with an excellent triple salchow and won the gold. They were very thankful to their first coach – V. Zacharov.

Katia: “Vladimir Viktorovich did so much for us. And the most important was that he coupled me and Seryozha many years ago.”

By that time G&G had already moved to the USA – first they lived in Florida, then – in Connecticut.

A. Gorelik: “I think it was wise of them to accept the offer of the American managers, as at that time there was no professional ice ballet in Russia. And it is awful to make an end to career at 24, 25 in full vigour”

Ekaterina Gordeeva speaks about Sergei in everyday life (from the book): I felt comfortable with him. I was surprised when Seryozha started to fit out Dasha’s room. He wanted to buy a big globe, he liked to study the places we’ve visited, he adored geography. He wanted to show these places to our daughter. He dreamt of a great journey around Europe with me – we would stop in every town, visit cathedrals and museums and stroll along boulevards…Sergei wanted to do so much apart from figure skating.” After his death Sergei’s mother said: “How can I redeem my guilt that I brought you to such a short life?”

Grinkov never complained about his health before 1995. He was examined in winter’94 before the Olympics in Lillehammer. Nothing caused doctor’s concern. Not long before Sergei addressed an American doctor saying his back ached. Nothing wrong was found, though Sergei was advised to see cardiologist. But the following 1.5 years Grinkov didn’t want to see a doctor, as he feared they would prohibit skating. And that meant he and Katia would lose lucrative contracts. Though nothing omened terrible outcome, it resulted in a tragedy.

Katia: “We will train for the professional world championship. And then, I hope, we will tour with the same show as in previous two years. It is called “Stars on Ice”. Scott Hamilton and Kristy Yamaguchi also perform in it.”

That fatal day G&G practiced in the Ice Palace of Lake Placid. They say, a few seconds before Sergei fell, Katia touched his shoulder and said: “Oh, it smells so good”. “Yes, the t-shirt is clean” replied Sergei and glided to the rink side. Then he collapsed on the ice. People around him thought it was a heart attacked and called an ambulance. Sergei was taken to hospital. There a doctor came out to Katia and said that Sergei had died not in hospital, but at the rink.

Father Nikolay: “Sergei’s death was so striking. But he was spiritually ready for it. 1.5 months before he died they came to me. Seryozha said he had shoulder aches – later it became clear that was heart – he also talked about tours and interesting performances. They both confessed and had a holy communion.”

Marina Zueva told Katia at the hospital: “Katia, go and speak to him. He still can hear you.” “I can’t describe the feelings that overwhelmed me at that moment. Seyozha still had his skates on, but he didn’t look dead, it seemed even as though he was breathing. His hands were ice-cold. But when I touched his shoulders, I felt they were warm. I didn’t know what to say and I don’t remember for sure my words. May be something simple like “Your hands are cold.” And I said I was sorry, I was so sorry.”

Father Nikolay: “They probably felt something bad. But they could not realize what it was. Your soul and heart are not at ease, but you can’t imagine it’s the end of someone’s life.”

Sergei Grinkov was buried on November, 25 1995 at Vagankovskoe cemetery. Katia became a widow at 24. It seemed to her life had ended. Father Nikolay who had baptized her, married her with Sergei, baptized Dasha and read burial service over Sergei said to her: “Don’t be afraid to be happy in your future life. Skate.” – those were his simple words. “And if you find a good man with whom you will feel comfortable come with him to this cathedral and I will bless your union.”

Katia came back to the USA in a month, but just recently she had met such a man. It is an Olympic champion Ilya Kulik.
Father Nikolay: “I tried to reassure Katia. We talked a lot with her. I followed Sergei to his grave at Vagankovo, where he got married in church with Katia and where he rests in peace.”

S. Grinkov: “It’s impossible that our life goes another way.
“Would you do the same given the opportunity to start everything from the beginning?”
“Yes, I think I would.”

Many thanks to OlyaS. for the transcript and translation into English:

HOST – Good evening. You are so fragile!

KATIA – All skaters are fragile!

Every time I come to Russia – we used to come at least once a year, and now even more often – I feel wonderful, I feel like coming home. Last year, we skated at the Red Square rink with our daughter, and it was great. It’s a great idea to have a rink there.

My father was a dancer, so I had an option to become a ballerina, but I chose figure skating. Of course, it was scary to skate with a young, inexperienced skater at first.

ZAHAROV – I trained them for 1-2 years after I put them in a pair. Sergei was not very disciplined – what do you expect at 16 years? – but Katia was always an excellent student. CSKA was a tough club, it’s the Army, and Zhuk was a strict coach.

KATIA – When we won our first senior world championship, we realized that we became accomplished skaters. Juniors don’t count… and then of course, when you win the Olympics you realize that you have done something great.

When Sergei died, the media attention was so intense, it was hard. I did not understand what was going on, my agents guided me through the process, but it was hard and at one moment it became horrible. I had a lot of support though – my parents, my wonderful mom and dad who were always near me, and lots of friends. I had great support.

I didn’t realize right away what happened at that training session [when Sergei died]. I knew that it was something horrible, but then the doctors started saying… He had complained about his back, like all athletes, because of all the lifts, but nothing major.

FATHER NIKOLAI: Katia visited me several times, we talked… she asked me how to live her life, so we decided that together. I prayed and realized that she needed a man, that she would be unhappy alone. Sergei would have blessed it, he loved her very much. And after several years she decided to re-marry. I was glad, because when she was alone she did not have the same spark in her eyes.

KATIA – It’s not like one day I decided to find someone new. My life continued, I was skating… it was nice to be invited to skate as a singles skater. My parents supported me, and my friends, Dashka was growing up… so it just happened naturally. It was not on purpose.

I don’t remember Ilya writing poetry to me!

ILYA – I could not write poetry that would be good enough to devote to Katia so no, I did not. The first couple of years we were together, the attention was very intense. Katia was still getting a lot of attention from the press… also because of her book. All the questions, all the attention, we could not just walk down the street. It was so draining for her, I felt sorry for her… she could never relax. So the first couple of years we ha to hide, we absolutely did not publicize our marriage.

Winning her was a laborious process, but we had a lot of time when we were on a tour! 

KATIA – But why don’t you ask me if it was hard for me to win him over?

ILYA – So, it was a mutually difficult process then?

HOST – So did YOU write poetry to him?

KATIA – Mmmm… there was a time…

ILYA – It was a long tour, same thing every day… training, show, training, show… nothing else to do… so I was wondering what to do that could attract her attention. So I saw that her jumps weren’t great and offered to help. She did not like that very much, but she was very patient.

KATIA – I thought you were going to talk about a different jump! Ever since I was a young girl, I dreamed of jumping with a parachute. So when he mentioned it, I was so excited that my dream would finally come true! And it did come true. He organized everything, and it was great… It was scary of course, but not so scary if you do it together.

KATIA/ILYA – Our daughter is skating skate. It’s too early to know whether Liza will be a pairs or singles skater. Who knows at 6.5 years? The older daughter, Dasha is now in 8th grade, and she no longer skates. She liked it but not enough to go into it seriously. She achieved a lot though, could jump doubles… We trained her.

KATIA – It’s hard to coach your children. I go to training sessions with Liza, and it feels wonderful, but I can’t coach her. She treats me as a parent, not as a coach, so she wants to talk to me, and she tells me she doesn’t want to do something, or asks me to warm up her hands… and that’s not what a coach does.

CHERKIZOV: Of course Americans only think about themselves but we should appreciate their support to Katia after Sergei’s death. So I would not agree that it was all for show. These skaters have so many devoted fans who follow them around, give them presents, go as far as Japan and to other competitions… and it’s sincere. So you can’t say that it was all for show.

When I prepared for the show, I was trying to put in words what this pair was like. I think Katia was like a precious stone, like emerald – which is better than a diamond – a gemstone that everyone admires, and Sergei was a wonderful setting. They were loved and famous. The camera does not do the movement justice, but when you are at a rink you can see how they fly, they covered the rink in four steps… CSKA pairs fly! And seeing them together now… Ilyuha is of course more organized than Grinya, and the fact that these two got together is just great. They are “ours”, they are Russian! She would have never picked an American!

ZAHAROV – Sergei was not so responsible, but Katia was always the good girl. Sergei was a wonderful single skater, he had great long programs… so we put them together. Pair skating is hard, especially with Zhuk. He was strict. For a 7 am training session you must come at 6.20 for warm-up!

There are four different types of parents – those who do not interfere, and that was the Gordeevs. Only sometimes Elena, Katia’s mom, would come and peak through the curtains. I would see her and ask her, “Do I come to your work and watch you?” Another type was parents who wanted to coach instead of the coach. That was the Kuliks. They would tell you what to do, what not to do, whether to leave the coach…

ILYA – Well, they would not coach, but they would tell me to leave a coach.

VLADIMIR DEMIDOV (Sergei’s classmate, a hockey player) – Hockey players looked down on figure skaters because hockey was supposed to be the main sport, a sport for men. But Sergei never let people joke at him, he always stood his ground. We joked a little when he started skating with Katia, but then we saw how much he cared about her when she fell and he would encourage her.

[He then tells this story about how they got drunk in school once and Sergei refused to tell the teachers who got the beer.] He was not very serious sometimes…

KATIA – Well, he treated his training sessions seriously… almost always. 

TATIANA VOROBJEVA (their teacher) – I was Katia’s teacher, and Ilya’s as well. What can I say about Katia… she was always the leader… She would take charge of the class during contests… everyone followed her. I still have a picture of her with these big bows on her head. As for Ilya, his opinion was always important, people would ask, “What does Ilya think?” and listen to him. Katia was the same.

Katia always took her education very seriously. I remember once seeing her running down a hallway after a training session still wearing her warm-up – she was running to the bathroom to change into the school uniform. Later, when she became a serious athlete, I would tell her, “Katia, it’s okay, you don’t have to take this exam or take part in a school event… but she would tell me, ‘No, this is my school and I am doing it.”

CHERKIZOV – Yes, and I also remember how we envied pairs figure skaters. The men always ate for two because their partners never ate in order to be thin. It was the same with Sergei and Katia. And they always go the most flowers! When they appeared, there were already strong pairs around – Valova/Vassiliev, Selezneva/Makarov, Mishkutenok/Dmitriev – and here they are, only 16 and 20 years! And later, after Dasha was born, to return to competition is worth a lot!

OLEG OVSIANNIKOV – We started out together with 50 other skaters, and I think we are the only two that survived. CSKA was a very competitive club and we were always on the edge of being thrown out. Katia, do you remember how we joined the Komsomol?

KATIA – Mmm… not, not really. Tell me!
….
Love helps on the ice. Love always helps!

VODOREZOVA – There was such harmony in that pair! We always worry how the pair will do, whether the girl will outgrow the boy… but no problems with this pair. They were so beautiful, Katia was so independent. She really held the pair together. She made Sergei more disciplined with time, because of her.

KATIA – Of course, Sergei dropped me a couple of times, but it was part of the training process. Yes, that’s how it started, I had a concussion… and he really worried about me. But I also want to say something about Marina Cherkassova. When I saw her, that’s when I decided to become a pair skater. Marina was so tiny… and they did a split quadruple twist… right, Marina? Later, when we learned that twist, I was so proud that it was just me and Marina who could do it, I was so proud to be a pair skater.

MARINA CHERKASSOVA – Katia did not jump well, everyone was so small, but she was so artistic, so we convinced Sergei to skate with her. He asked for someone small… and at first he didn’t want to skate with her, but then they got used to each other.

NATALIA – Sergei was very secretive, there was a part of his life where he did not let anyone. He did not tell me about his love for Katia, he just told us that he was marrying her. Parents reacted normally, they knew her parents, so no one was against it…

Of course I remember when I heard the bad news, you can never forget it. They called me very late, it was horrible. I could not believe it, because he was so healthy, young and handsome… My problem was also that I did not know how to tell Mom. We told her he was in a hospital, in a very bad condition. But she realized everything right away, she just asked us, “Is he dead?” and we were silent. That’s how we found out.

ARHIPOV (doctor) – No, I can’t say that they did not take good care of Sergei in America. Of course, athletes in Soviet times regularly went through thorough physicals and if something was wrong, the problem would be corrected. In Moscow, we would have seen him sooner and may have done something to help him… but that’s “what if”… it only makes people bitter.

GOLDMAN (Sergei’s mom’s friend) – His mom was heartbroken. She would visit us for years after his death. She said that he had complained about his health. One summer he told her that he felt very, very bad…

KATIA – He complained about his back, like I said, but we did not do regular physicals in America, like in Russia where we would go through them twice a year. In the US, we would train for years without seeing any doctors.

There were no mystical signs. A mirror was broken, our car mirror… if you talk about such signs…and yes, our last program was to Requiem.

NATALIA – I used to go to his grave a lot more often, now not so often. The grave was vandalized. At first, it had a beautiful crystal, it was Katia’s idea… you can see [on the screen]. It was beautiful, especially when the sun was shining through it, it sparkled… and it was the symbol of ice. At first I got a call that a piece was broken off. We fixed it, but then again someone broke it. Now the grave looks dull.

SHAHIN (Zhuk’s friend) – Zhuk loved this pair, but it so happened that he was no longer allowed to coach them and after that, his health deteriorated. It was his last great pair, and he felt it. Once he lost them, he lost the drive and the inner strength that had kept him going.

ZHUK’S WIFE – Katia can confirm this or not, but for a long time Katia and Sergei were being convinced to leave Zhuk. They did not want to leave, but they were being “worked on” after a certain situation… which I don’t want to talk about… so they had to leave.

KATIA – No, no one made us leave. It was our mutual decision to go to Stanislav Leonovich, a young coach. We liked Zhuk and training with him, but a time came when we could no longer stay with him. A coach’s fate is that you can put your heart, your everything into an athlete, but there comes a time to part ways… An athlete decides, or the parents, it doesn’t matter, it’s just a situation… like divorce or marriage. No body makes them, it just happens and it’s natural, it’s like any relationship.

I don’t know where I am going to be in ten years. Maybe, I will just be a mom, or maybe even a grandmother… my oldest daughter is 15 years. I would like to be a coach or a mom… I don’t like to plan so far ahead. But it will be related to figure skating.

VODOREZOVA – She also skates beautifully, gives so much pleasure to people… it’s amazing. And you should see how Dasha and Liza skate! Lisa is preparing as a professional, mom and dad take an active part in that.

CHERKASSOVA – Ilya will be a great coach, Sochi will be ours!

ILYA – Lisa skates, but she won’t be ready for Sochi. 2017 maybe…

transcripted by bunnyhopper

The show had many little quick comments from the skaters stitched together. I did not do a transcript of everything Katia said throughout the whole show…but rather did a transcript of only the portion that was titled “Sergei”. She did make a few other comments about the show being unlike any other show, etc. But this entire transcript is the section that was bookended by commercials, and started with a title bar marked “Sergei”

Roz: the day that Sergei died is really still so vivid in my mind.

Scott: It doesn’t get any tougher than that. I’m..I’ll never get over that. I’ll never get over the loss of Sergei Grinkov. Ever.

Kristi: You know, it was just such a difficult time. We were all in Lake Placid together.

Scott: I was with him five minutes before he died talking to him about Daria coming that weekend.

Roz: I can picture exactly where we were on the ice. The opening costumes we were in.

Scott: The next thing you hear, is he collapsed. And…I went back…and I was in a dressing room. I wanted to stay out of the way. And I saw the EMT guy come in and he was walking….and I go “RUN!”…”This is, this is…this is something BAD. Run.”

Roz: And when he was wheeled out…I mean at that time I don’t think any of us knew he was already gone.

Scott: And I immediately went into one of the dressing rooms and I just prayed. I said, “Don’t do this. Whatever it is. Don’t do this”

Paul: I know that all of us reassessed where we were. I can remember going to The Cottage, which is this little pub in town, in Lake Placid and everybody just sitting around and saying “Oh my Gosh.”, you know? “What just happened?”

Roz: You just can’t believe that this strapping, gorgeous, athlete…… that something like that could happen …..and certainly it can’t happen to one of us.

Paul: And we were all hoping that there’d be…that they would find a way to bring him back.

Roz: I remember that night, having dinner, all of us together, and it was just like…I mean, you just wanted to cling to each other and not let go.

Kristi: Being together was the best thing because we were able to…you know….be there for Katia, be there for Daria….her family. Feeling helpless and just in shock but wanting to do all we could, to make things as right as we could with the situation.

Brian O: Scott had a horrible time with it because he was particularly very close to Sergei.

Scott: I was bitter and angry for a long time. Just…just seemed so unfair for a 28 year old man to die of …of an older person’s condition. You know? It just didn’t seem right.

Brian O: You know what? It’s like losing part of your family.

Scott: I still don’t understand it. But…you know, its….we were there for her and tried to support her and give her every opportunity to go beyond, and to get back on track. It’s something that I think the whole cast participated in.

Katia: Scott was always a very good friend with Sergei. And uh…he help me a lot to go through the time when Sergei passed away. But, it was just very important for me to know that they…. what they feeling for me. They all came to Russia even…Like, Paul Wylie, and Scott came.

Scott: To be at his funeral in Moscow and say goodbye to this Giant of a man, and someone that I thought was just…. Nothing would ever take him…and to see how, …his life …you know….was over….it just…still…I’ll never get over it.

Katia: This is very special moments which will stay with me always and they will be very special. Scott will be a very special friend for me.

Scott: They were in such a wonderful place in their relationship. You know? With their daughter growing up, and with them being kind of competitive with each other….you know, as much as they supported…they were always competing a little bit you know? It was like ((and here he mimicked a little conversation between Sergei and Katia))…”Where you going?” …”uhhh…I dunno…”….”You’re going to the rink aren’t you!? You’re gonna skate…Well I’m going too!” …..

Scott again: You know? It was really cute. I adored them as a couple.

Kristi: When Sergei and Katia were on the tour, I think for two years in a row, I skated right after them, so luckily I got to stand in the curtain and watch them perform every night.

Paul: To see them, up close and personal…um…just the way that they related to each other, the love that they showed for each other on the ice and off the ice.

Kristi: I just loved to watch them. They were just amazing. (Here Kristi talks about the quiet moment during the opening of SOI 1995-96 after Sergei died.) There was a spot in the opening number that was set aside for Sergei and Katia’s announcement, you know, the lights kind of went to center ice, and there is a brief pause and whether the audience got it or not it was for us, and we knew that was for Sergei and Katia.

Katia: I saw how the dedicate a little opening number for Sergei too. There was like a moment….of silence. That was all very very special to me.

Kristi: We could all just…remember him. And that was, I think, part of the healing process for us as we went on with the rest of the tour.

Roz: And really we were there for Katia, and we just honestly couldn’t wait for her to come back…in whatever capacity, we just wanted her back with us. So that she knew, that even though she’d lost Sergei, she still had this family that …we were gonna take care of her for the rest of her life.

Scott: And to see her come back as a solo performer was inspiring for us because it was so tough…to see them together, and then to see her go out there by herself …was really hard.

Katia: The transition to go from pairs to start skating by myself was pretty difficult, and when it’s all happen I didn’t even know if I gonna skate or not. Then I thought that maybe I can skate too. And when I started it just felt much better about …like a healing process.

Brian O: It was great to see her. As she went through the season she was healing, it was nice (His lips tremble here. So sweet).

Katia: So…difficult transition but good…in a good way.

Roz: It was very interesting to watch her just blossom into something that she never dreamed she would have had to do.

Kristi: To watch her is just effortless beauty out on the ice. You know..I still sit there in amazement watching her.

Roz: I don’t think there was any way, even with the tragedy that Katia could have walked away from skating. I mean, that’s what made her who she was and that’s where she found her solace, and that’s where she found her strength, that’s where she’s grown into this beautiful woman.

Scott: To see Katia and Dasha now…and Liska, Ilia’s daughter…Ilia and Katia’s daughter….is so beautiful, and to see how they’ve taken life, and taken it to another level really honors Sergei’s life.

I forgot to add, that there were also a couple comments in other parts of the show, when they were saying “still to come”. that weren’t actually in the “Sergei” part…..

One was Christopher Dean at the beginning after a clip of Reverie, saying that tragedy unites them.

Kristi said that one of the times they had to be there for each other was the loss of Sergei Grinkov.

And Roz said :There is still something about going back to Lake Placid that even to this day that really just goes right to your heart. I mean, I can look right over onto the ice exactly where Sergei collapsed and that whole day just comes back.

THEN & NOW

transcripted by Su-jan

Woman’s voice from the off: A tragic love story more than the competitive world of figure skating. Ekaterina Gordeeva and her skating partner Sergei Grinkov captured the pairs gold medal for Russia in the 1988 Olympics and again in 1994.

Along the way they married and had a daugther Daria. But during a practice session in 1995 Grinkov died suddenly from a heart attack. Gordeeva found comfort in the same place as she had found love – on the ice. Returning alone just 3 months later.

Ekaterina: To come back on the ice it was hard and at the same time it was kind of a healing process.

Woman’s voice from the off: Gordeeva became a household name and face. Writing two books and signing several endorsements, including Target. She even launched her own fragrance’s line. She eventually found love again. Marrying fellow Russian Olympic Gold medalist Ilia Kulik. And had a second daughter Elizaveta. Gordeeva has toured with “Stars on Ice” for 7 years. But says her achievements off the ice are most important to her.

Ekaterina: I think still kids is a precious moment to be part of Olympic experience and, ehm, that was very special, too. But I think the kids would be a first – ah – the first gold medal (breaking out into a smile).

TODAY SHOW

transcripted by Susan B.

HOST: And this morning on Today at the Rink, two-time Olympic gold medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva is here to take a spin and tell us about her upcoming special on NBC. Katia, good morning to you. Thanks for joining us.

[Katia is wearing a black zip-up Smucker's SOI fleece over her costume this year, and red mittens.]

KATIA: Good morning.

HOST: You brought your daughter with you, one of your daughters, with you this morning.

KATIA: Yes, one of my daughters is here, yes, with her friend. [Camera shows Daria at the barrier with her friend.]

HOST: How old is she? She’s Daria, right?

KATIA: She’s twelve. Daria.

HOST: And then you’ve got a three-year-old at home.

KATIA: Three-years-old at home, yeah, with her father.

HOST: So you’re dealing with the ‘tween years right now, right, the almost teenager year?

KATIA: Yes, yes. It’s nice. They good.

HOST: Yeah. Now tell me about the NBC special you’re going to be a part of.

KATIA: This is special, is Katarina Witt & Friends, which gonna air on NBC, I think January 2nd, this show presented by Hyundai, and there’s a lot of good skaters, Yuka Sato, Steven Cousins, obviously Katarina Witt is gonna skate there, so it’s gonna be fun.

HOST: And we look forward to it. We’re gonna let you take the ice, and I want to set up the introduction here because you’re gonna be actually performing, uh – with a live, uh –

KATIA: Singer.

HOST: – singer, here.

KATIA: Yes.

HOST: So why don’t you get ready to take the ice and I’m gonna let folks know, as I get my papers squared, that we’re gonna introduce Hayley Westenra who’s up there on the stairs right now and her debut album titled “Pure” has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. So Katia and Hayley, take it away.

KATIA: I’m excited.

HOST: I’ll take your jacket if you like.

[Katia is wearing the black Caruso dress, the backless one with long sleeves and white/silver detail. She skates to Hayley Westenra singing "Who Painted the Moon Black?" It's only 38 degrees Fahrenheit in New York this morning, but her skating is smooth as butter. She did a couple of jumps, including a single axel, I think, some spins, a long spiral, and a spread eagle that drew big applause from the crowd. At the end, you can hear someone yelling "whoo-hoo!" and Katia is laughing and waving.]

HOST: Ekaterina Gordeeva, thanks very much. Also thanks to Hayley Westenra. We’ll be back in a moment.

TODAY SHOW

transcripted by Susan B.

Matt Lauer: And this morning on Today at the Rink, Kat-eeda, Kat-eeva, excuse me, Gordee-, EKATERINA GORDEEVA, all confused here (embarrassed grin). She is a four-time World Champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist and she’s here with a brand new NBC skating special, and she’s also here with someone very special. This is her daughter. (To Daria) How are you?

Daria: I’m good, I’m good.

Matt: Daria, how old are you?

Daria: I’m eleven.

Matt: Eleven years old. Your mom skated over here a second ago when you and I were talking and her face just LIT UP. She is so proud of you. Are you skating a lot?

Daria: Yeah, I skate every day, I practice every day.

Matt (to Katia): How is she?

Katia: Uh, she is… doing better. She is doing better. She started when she was eight, so it’s hard for her, but she loves it. She enjoy it.

Matt: Did you push her at all, or did she come to you and say, “Mom, I really want to try this skating thing”?

Katia: No, I –, she started when she was very little, but then she stopped, so I didn’t push her. But now she wants to do it again, so…

Matt: (to Daria) And do you want to take this further? I mean, do you plan on making a career of skating?

Daria: Yeah, I do. Yeah. We’ll see, we’ll see.

Katia (off camera): We’ll see.

Matt: You like it that much.

Daria: Yeah, I do.

Matt: That’s great. (To Katia) You have another daughter.

Katia: Yes.

Matt: A two-and-a-half-year old?

Katia: Liza, yes, Elizaveta, she’s two-and-a-half —

Matt: And she’s not in the terrible two’s?

Katia: She’s very good. She’s very… she’s bring me a lot of joy.

Matt: Ah that’s great. Tell me about your skating special on NBC. Who’s part of it?

Katia: Uh… There will be… It’s a Capitol One Holiday Celebration on Ice special, it’s gonna be air on December Christmas Day between 4 and 6, and there’s a lot of skaters, Brian Orser, um, Rosalyn Sumners gonna be skating there, um, uh, Alexei Yagudin, uh, Jenni Meno, Todd Sand, a lot of skaters.

Matt: And you have music from Lee Ann Womack?

Katia: Yes, she was singing there. It was very special.

Matt: And then you’re off on tour as well. How do you cram it all in?

Katia: Well, it’s — I don’t have much work (laughing). It’s– it’s– it’s all fun. Most of my work is home with kids (smiling and nodding towards Daria) and uh, it’s just for enjoyment, my skating…

Matt: Ah, of course. Family is most important. Daria, what do you say you and I take off? Here, you want to grab your mom’s jacket? (Katia takes off her gloves and hands them to Daria).

Daria: All right.

Matt: And the gloves? (Katia is wearing a Smucker’s Stars on Ice pullover fleece with a half zipper down the front, so she unzips it and starts pulling it over her head). And we’ll get you ready.

Katia: (Says something that’s muffled by the fleece.)

Matt: We gotta find an easier jacket next time, Ekaterina. All right?

Katia: Yes. (Hands it to Daria, then grins and points to the logo on the fleece and says): Smucker’s.

Matt: Here we go.

Daria: (Says something to Katia in Russian that sounds like OOH SEM BUCKA to me; it’s probably something entirely different, LOL.)

Matt: Come on (to Daria, and they run off, so the carpet they were standing on can be pulled off the ice).

Katia skates to part of “I Hope You Dance.”

At the end, Matt says, “Ekaterina Gordeeva. Ekaterina, happy holidays to you and your family” while she’s taking her bows. End of segment.

HOLIDAY ICE DREAMS

by Shae Bunnie

Fluff Piece #1….at the beginning of the program with Daria, Ilia, and Katia each being interviewed close-up and individually….

Here is what transpired. I will report word for word what was said by each of them, and then add any other comments that are appropriate:

The fluff piece begins with Ilia. He says:

“There is no Xmas without skating, so I love doing a holiday show and it’s a, it’s a special mood and it’s great to skate…it’s great to skate…you know, once in a while to skate together….you know, we don’t have that chance that often, so we are definitely gonna enjoy it.”

Then cut to Katia and she says:

“We used to skate at the same show with Ilia. but I think for Daria is very special, not only because of us in the show, uh…she sees us every day (Katia shrugs her shoulders and then begins to laugh at this and she continues…) doesn’t matter what….(she laughs again)…but because of ah…she can be on the ice with other skaters like Paul Wylie or Elvis. (then Katia gets more serious here and says…) I think for her it’s very special.” Cut to Daria now….

Daria says –she is wearing braces on her teeth btw!–:

“It really feels very mysterious and mystical (?) out there because all the lights are shining on you and it looks like you’re the only figure there and and it’s so much fun…it’s just a lot of fun. I love the feeling performing, I love feeling everybody’s looking at me….I like to be the center of attentiion! Ha! (And she laughs at this point….so cute! She smiled the whole way through this interview….a very big and wide Sergei Grinkov smile I would like to point out!)

During this piece, Paul Wylie is shown skating with Daria practicing their number together. Daria skates off backward and then goes into a simple one loop jump. And by the way, I love the length and cut of Ilia’s hair. It is short but not too short…just perfect! Some hair falls to the middle of his forehead, yet it is cut just over the ears neatly. He looked very handsome I thought. He looked like he was beginning to grow a beard, since there appeared to be more than just a day’s growth of hair on his face and neck. Yet during the show, it looked like he was clean-shaven. Maybe he just let it grow prior to coming to perform in this show. Katia had her hair pulled back and caught low at the base of her neck in a hairband (rubber band) She had no makeup on but was just gorgeous nonetheless. Gosh, I would kill for skin like that!!! JK LOL

Ok! Here’s a report on the fluff piece #2 during the program….(Katia is skating to “I Hope You Dance” as I type this!):

Katia and Ilia just made comments in that little fluff piece aired in the program about Liza and Daria and Xmas coming up for all of them. Katia was relating how even though Liza was only a baby last year at Xmas (she would have been one and a half), she remembers all the “boxes and the Xmas tree” and that now when she sees boxes, she says “Christmas!”. LOL

Ilia says that she is growing so fast. Then there were a couple of pictures of Liza shown, one of her as just a tiny baby…probably as a newborn or shortly thereafter…and another of her as a toddler. She is just adorable! What a cutie-pie!

=========================

Ok, the show is over so I will go back and type it word for word! Here is what was said and shown in the short fluff piece:

Katia said, quote (transcribing right from the tape of the program, verbatim):

“Daria is already growing up and she understands that she can ask for something, she knows that Holiday is coming up so she knows that there’s gonna be gifts and everything, but with Liza it’s very cute because she doesn’t know and if she sees the gifts right now, and she remembers from last year it was, ah, it was Christmas tree and there was a lot of gifts, and so when she sees the boxes with a lot of gifts, she says “Christmas”!!! (Katia was very animated and smiling and began laughing at the end of this story.)

Then Ilia begins to speak and he says:

“She’s two and a half and she is already asking where is the tree and she’s already looking forward (or “for it”…Ilia talks fast here!) and it’s really amazing because, you know, you can really see her develop and it’s unbelievable to watch it, and it’s….it changes my perspective on holidays completely.” (Ilia had a nice pleasant smile on his face while he was saying this and I like his voice which is a little bit mid-tone to a little deep with a Russian accent of course, but his English is very good as is Katia’s!)

While each of them were shown talking, pictures of Katia and Ilia and Liza were shown. Here is a description of the pics:

1. A fantastic picture of Katia and Liza. They are both dressed in outdoors winter clothing and there are a few snowflakes seen coming down in front of them in the pic. It is a shot of Katia holding Liza…I think on her lap maybe….the shot is from the chest up on both of them. Katia is wearing a navy blue parka type coat, and has on a white knit hat with a part of it flipped up to form a wide edge all around it, with her hair tucked up under it. Liza is wearing a pink coat and a matching hat that slides over her head and has an opening for the face….the material at the bottom of the face opening rests just under her chin. What is so adorable is that the knitted pink hat is fashioned with two pointed peaks coming off the top, like bunny ears but pointed straight up. LOL and there are spikey type tassles on the ends! She is looking right into the camera and she has gorgeous brown eyes. Her face is very full…round almost or even kind of squared off, it’s so chubby! Katia has the most fantastic and huge open-mouthed laugh! She looks fabulously happy in this pic!

2. Katia, Ilia, and Liza. It is an indoor shot of them in front of what appears to be a VERY big Xmas tree. Liza looks to be only several months old, so I this has to be a shot from the Xmas the same year she was born. Ilia is leaning into Katia closely, Katia is turned sideways and leaning into him….Ilia’s cheek is touching the side of Katia’s face (forehead) that is nearest to him. Katia is holding Liza just in front of Ilia. Liza is wearing what looks to be either a white dress or a pretty white top of some sort. She has on an Xmas hat like Santa’s elves would wear, red and white striped with a pointed end at the top and floppy too. LOL She again looks so darn cute in it!

Earlier, Daria was talking about Xmas and she said that what she wanted most this year for Xmas was a motorized scooter.

Ok…hope this tidbit tides you over until you can get a copy of this (those who could not see this on their TV because you don’t get cable)!

Fluff Piece #3: Holiday Ice Dreams on A&E 12/04/03

Ok…I decided to go back and type up that last fluff piece on Daria, since I missed it when I posted the first two pieces. So here it is, with other comments about what was shown as she was talking, following the dialogue:

“I love Xmas because we go over my friend’s house and we make cookies and we decorate them….(real animated here!) and I LIKE THE PRESENTS PART!!! of course…I like wrapping presents, I like getting presents. I want a motorized scooter….that’s what I want and I want….Ughs (or Uggs? Not sure of spelling)…those are, like, boots….those are so comfortable after skating!”

Then Daria speaks about 20-30 seconds of Russian, and then explains:

“What I just said in Russian, it means Happy New Year to everybody in Russia and I just want to wish everybody a good and happy year.”

During Daria’s dialogue, a picture is shown of her sitting with her legs stretched out in front of her, next to an Xmas tree. Here body is turned sideways to the camera, with her head turned foward, facing the camera. She is wearing a white sweater or cotton top….or maybe it is a sweatshirt….. with two gold bands spaced apart, running around the upper arms of the sweater/top. She has on levis/jeans and also, a very neat Santa hat. It is red of course, with a big fluffy border of white, and a white tassle ball on the end of the pointed top of the hat. LOL Very sweet! There are a lot of presents under that tree!

There are also two very short clips of Daria practicing….one in which she is wearing a light lavendar pair of slacks and a lavendar cotton top, it looks like. She is doing a an arabesque or camel spin (ok, I’m not up on these moves! Sorry!). The other clip shows her in the red Xmas dress that she wears at the end of the show. She is looking into the camera and then she turns and starts to walk away from the camera. These are both very brief clips….like a few seconds each.

That’s it! Hope you enjoyed this!