Fall 1994
G&G 1994 NEWS CLIP
Dennis House, anchorman: The International Skating Center isn't even built yet but the promise of what is to come is enough to relocate the current gold medal pair champions from their native Russia. Channel 3's Alison King met the skaters in Simsbury today where they were promoting the October 17th opening of their new skating center.[Switch to video. Screen caption: HERE TO STAY ]
Voiceover: If Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov don't look familiar to you at the Simsbury Inn today...
[Katia in a dark dress and Sergei in a gray suit walk into a room where the conference is being held and take their seats on a table in front of reporters]
...this might jog your memory.
[Clips of their Moonlight Sonata encore at Olympics]
G&G as they're called won a second Olympic gold medal in Lillehammer last winter so their decision to move to Connecticut is considered a major coup for the state.
[Transition to...]
Bob Young, International Skating Center: "These two are the legends. They set the pace for all the pairs. Since 1984 they've virtually been unbeatable."
[Video of G&G sitting next to each other, must have been taken at the same time as but does not include "the look" we saw in SOI's Sergei segment]
Voiceover: G&G, seen at home here in their former Moscow apartment have had as much success on the ice as off.
[Sequence shots of '88 Olympic LP, Katia holding a bald Daria and Moonlight Sonata encore again.]
After winning their first Olympic gold in 1988, they went pro, married and had a baby girl, Daria. Now pros again, they're touring the world. But when they come home, it will be to their new condo in Simsbury.
[Katia and Sergei are standing in a lobby with the reporter, who is holding the mic but off-camera.]
Katia: "It's very nice to see all around that this place is, because it reminds us very much of Russia because of the nature and all the skaters, it's very similar."
Voiceover: But that's not the main reason they're here.
[Reporter standing in front of the site of the ISCC construction zone, speaking into the camera.]
Alison King, reporter: "There are two reasons why the figure skaters find Simsbury so attractive. One is the close proximity to Bradley International Airport, hence easy access to and from European competitions. The other is what I'm doing right now. Between Connecticut, New York and Boston, G&G will receive plenty of media attention."
[Video of pro Reverie (I think?)]
Voicover: That's just fine with IMG, the New York marketing group responsible for their careers.
[Transition to...]
Jay Ogden, IMG: "Because of Katia's recent appearance in People magazine - she was designated as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World - um, that has really opened up a whole new avenue for us to pursue."
[Video still of People magazine spread with Katia]
Voiceover: What is Sergei's reaction to that?
[Katia and Sergei in the lobby again. Katia and Sergei look at each other and laugh as Sergei answers. Both of them have big grins. Katia turns back to the reporter, a little shy.]
Katia: He says he's...uh...doesn't surprise...
[Big embarassed laugh from Katia, HUGE grin from Sergei, the reporter laughs too.]
Reporter: Aaaw, how sweet.
Voiceover: In fact, none of the fame and fortune seem to have fazed the two pros, which suits the fans especially in Connecticut.
[Shots of kids skating around in a rink. A couple are shown being interviewed.]
Laurette Partridge: I'm kind of excited because I might be skating at that rink and I might get a chance to see them.
Another girl: By them coming in, maybe there'll be more attention paid to figure skating.
[Back to Moonlight Sonata encore]
Voiceover: There's no question about that. In Simsbury, Alison King, Channel 3 Eyewitness News.
[Switch back to news desk]
Dennis House, anchorman: Now Gordeeva and Grinkov will be joined by the Ukraine ladies figure skating champion Oksana Baiul at the Simsbury skating complex. As for the 1998 Olympics, the pairs skaters say they are too busy right now to decide if they'll travel to Japan to defend their title.
the G&G corner - Copyright © Su-jan Yip, September 1996 - 2007