1997
From a Russian newspaper:
SERIOZHA, I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER OUR WONDERFUL FAIRY TALE...
by Sergei Dadygin
translated by Olya Smolyanova
On February 4, 1997, a wonderful figure skater Sergei Grinkov would have been 30
When Sergei was alive, his sister Natalia Grinkova was not allowed to visit him in America. Despite endless discussions and negotiations, the US Embassy three times refused her a visa. But the brother loved his sister very much, and because Natalia's personal life didn't work out (she is divorced) Sergei decided to financially support her and her daughter. Natasha, of course, didn't like the idea. She told him that what she made as a cosmetologist was enough for the two of them, that she was uncomfortable, shy... Her brother listened, and said, 'Don't argue. My wife doesn't mind.' Last fall, on November 20, exactly a year after Sergei passed away, Natasha Grinkova visited Lake Placid. She visited the very same rink where her famous brother had collapsed on the ice and never got up. Now, the authorities didn't think that Natasha was going to America to stay, the gave her a visa in a minute. Thanks.
Anna Filippovna, the skater's mother, didn't see that rink. It just wasn't meant to be. However, she had visited her daughter-in-law, Ekaterina Gordeeva before that, in February of last year. The thing is, Katia lives in Simsbury, a two-hour drive from New York. Anna didn't get to see Lake Placid because two days after she arrived, on February 27, a touching ice show was put together in Hartford by most of the world's leading figure skaters. In the memory of Sergei Grinkov. Although the cause was sad, the performance was called 'Celebration of a Life.' I have a videotape with that evening in Hartford. You can't watch it and be calm. Tears roll down your cheeks. Katarina Witt from Germany, Americans Kristi Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano, Canadian Kurt Browning and other stars of figure skating talk about Sergei ' about a person who was seemingly a stranger to them. Talk in such touching words...
1984 Olympic champion Scott Hamilton admits to Sergei's mother, 'I don't have a family. Just didn't work out. Sergei, Katia and Dashenka were my family. I considered Sergei my friend, although he is a Russian and I am an American. We, Americans, know how to make and value money. Sergei knew how to value people...'
It so happened, that when Anna Filippovna arrived in New York (Katia had sent her tickets to Moscow), Katia's father was late picking her up at the airport. When the airport workers and other passengers found out that the woman in front of them was the mother of Sergei Grinkov, they immediately started calling the Figure Skating Federation, IMG (the organizer of the Hartford evening), other places. Some even invited Anna to stay with them" Fortunately, their services turned out to be unnecessary ' Katia's family soon arrived. But Anna Filippovna, still devastated by her son's death only three months before, was very touched by such attention.
Sergei's mom was not opposed to the idea of Katia returning to the ice and skating with a new partner. At least that's what she said. But to perform with a man who was not dear to her, to pretend to have feelings on the ice, was too much for Gordeeva. She decided to skate alone. As a professional. And to spend most of her time there, in America. They adore Katyusha there. Just like some time ago they adored Olga Korbut.
Explaining things to her daughter was the most difficult thing for Katia. Dasha is four and a half years old now, and she understands a lot. In November of 1995 she was just a little person with no understanding of reality ' but a person who knew that she had a father. Handsome, young, kind father. His daughter would not have believed that her daddy had left them forever. After consulting with a physiatrist, Katia decided to tell her the truth. Now, when her mom or grandma cry about Sergei, it is little Dasha who comforts them gently, almost like a grown-up.
Last year Ekaterina Gordeeva co-authored a book with an American reporter Mr. Swift.
"I devote this book to Seriozha. My beloved, my husband, the father of my child, a
great athlete and my best friend. During his short but rich life, Sergei was able to give
wonderful moments to many people. He lived for earthy love and could give it to people
because it was a natural state of his soul. I am grateful to Seriozha for each day with
him, for each smile and kind word. Seriozha, I will keep the fairy tale that we lived
forever, and will tell it to our daughter"
Ekaterina Gordeeva.
This is the beginning of 'My Sergei.' The book was published in English, but I hope that the Russian version will soon be available. I am sure that we, the Russian people, loved Sergei Grinkov just as much, and maybe even more, than the kindest Americans.
the G&G corner - Copyright © Su-jan Yip, September 1996 - 2007