February 5, 2000
From the Moscow Times:
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO . . .:THE ICE QUEEN?
by Larisa Naumenko
Remember Yekaterina Gordeyeva, who together with her partner on the ice and, later, husband Sergei Grinkov, took the gold in the Winter Olympics in 1988 and 1994 and at four world championships?
Gordeyeva and Grinkov won the hearts of fans worldwide and their performances, illuminated by their love, were next to perfection. In 1994, Gordeyeva was included in People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.
On Nov. 20, 1995, this idyll ended when Grinkov, 28, died of a clogged coronary artery during a practice session at the Lake Placid Olympic Center in New York.
Widowed at 24 and left to care for their three-year-old daughter Daria, Gordeyeva started practicing just weeks after the tragedy. It was skating that helped her recover and return to the ice - to take part in the "Stars on Ice" tour and professional competitions.
In 1997, while raising her daughter in their home in Simsbury, Connecticut, Gordeyeva wrote a book called "My Sergei: A Love Story," and in 1998, together with the Target store chain, launched the "Katya" line of products for body and bath.
Last year her dream of finding a partner for pairs skating finally came true when she started performing with Ilya Kulik, the 22-year-old Russian 1998 Winter Olympics champion.
The couple's relationship, however, doesn't end on the ice in their passionate Di Bolero tango ... Kulik and Gordeyeva have been dating for some time.
the G&G corner - Copyright © Su-jan Yip, September 1996 - 2007