Sergei's strength and Katya's happy personality combined in a partnership rightly described by the leading coach Betty Callaway as "absolutely superb". World champions when she was 14, Olympicchampions when she was 16, they first performed as if they werebrother and sister. language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification, -1) ? Gordeeva and her daughter, Daria, starred in the 1997 holiday movie "Snowden on Ice.". Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. The risk factor is called the PLA-2 variant and is also known as the "Grinkov Risk Factor." Katya made the necessary arrangements in the middle of a holidayweek in the middle of nowhere. The Grinkovs were one of the most memorable pairs in the history of the sport, combining to a rare degree the conflicting requirements of artistry and athleticism in skating. Collins flew from Minnesota to Simsbury,to tell her that he would help in whatever way he could. After Gordeeva and Grinkov were married, they toured with "Stars on Ice" in late 1991 through the spring of 1992. 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 originally wanted to compete in singles events, but afterwards said he was so terrible that he had no choice but to try pairs. Could anyone ever have more friends from more disparate places? Grinkov had an athletic build without physical evidence of chronic steroid use and "was clearly in very good health except for this one problem," Varga said. the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. On 11 September 1992, Gordeeva gave birth to their daughter, Daria "Dasha" Sergeyevna Grinkova, in Morristown, New Jersey. They skated at the Central Red Army Club in Moscow. "He was clearly in very good health except for this one problem," Dr. Francis Varga said Tuesday. "They were always at the rink. Sergei Grinkov - Biography. Schwartzberg said that Gordeyeva had regained much of her composure after being "very distraught" on Monday. No matter the ice condition, you hear only the music. The couple has one daughter, Elizaveta Ilyinichna Kulik, who was born on June 15, 2001. they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. They were with each other all the time. But, Varga said, "Many times in young people sudden death is the first sign of coronary artery disease.". The greatest pair in pair skating was a total pair, 24 hours a day, every day. Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov was a Russian pair skater. "I think it was on my tour when they first fell for each other," Collins said. Aquarius Figure Skater #6. Oldest first, -1) ? She hosted a private wake at afuneral parlor in Saranac Lake and talked with friends andaccepted condolences. Surprisingly they retired from amateur competition after winning their fourth world championship, in 1990. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. All this makes me more nervous, butmore excited.". Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. Then he lay down and lost consciousness. For Sergei Grinkov, 28, the one problem was a heart that exploded without warning while he practiced for an ice show with his wife and partner, Ekaterina Gordeeva. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post 'active' : ''"> The mourners, famous and not so famous, stood close. He said he asked Gordeyeva yesterday and again today, when he informed her of the autopsy findings, about possible chest pain. COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY HEINZ KLUETMEIER Death Spiral This dazzling maneuver was part of Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov's gold-medal-winning pairs performance at the 1994 Winter Olympics. I rubbed Katya’s back, and with my other hand I just touched Sergei’s skate. No one elsedoes that in pairs skating. FIGURE SKATING;Russian Skater Died After Heart Attack, Doctor Says. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss Maybe... it should have been so simple. Irina S. All Rights Reserved. The result was all they hoped it could be. "We'd all done thistour for a number of years. His skating partner of 15 years and wife of 4 years is Ekaterina Gordeeva. They already had bought a home inTampa, but when plans were announced for an international icetraining center in Simsbury, and Petrenko and gold medal winnerOksana Baiul and other skaters and coaches from the formerSoviet Union started moving to town, this seemed to be a chanceto combine the many pieces of a happy life. They had two ceremonies because the USSR did not recognize religious ceremonies. Viktor Petrenko, the Ukrainian gold medalist who had briefly led the funeral procession, still clutched Sergei’s picture to his chest. They had a daughter,Daria, a year and a half later. No cameras and lights were broken down and taken to another place. Most liked, -1) ? They already had bought a home in Tampa, but when plans were announced for international ice training center in Simsbury, and Peterenko and gold medal winner Oksana Baiul and other skaters and coaches from the Former Soviet Union started moving to town, this seemed to be a chance to combine the many pieces of a happy life. "Who thinks a healthy world-class athlete age 28 exercising vigorously without symptoms would have coronary artery disease," Schwartzberg said. On this gray Moscow afternoon, on this day when she was supposedto be half a world away, previewing a tour in Lake Placid, N.Y.,skating on a frozen cloud, looking into Sergei's face, feedingoff his strength as she always had, she was burying him in thiscold Russian ground. No cameras and lights were broken downand taken to another place. Sergei Grinkov was born in Moscow to Anna Filipovna Grinkova and Mikhail Kondrateyevich Grinkov and had an older sister, Natalia Mikailovna Grinkova. A Red Army band played the Russian national anthem. No matter the ice condition, youhear only the music. I don’t know what’s going to happen with that now.". Start your Independent Premium subscription today. "You could just see how much they loved each other. Born in Moscow, Russia, he was a world class pairs figure ice skater. We all wish we could find that kind of feeling, that perfect nuclear life. Ekaterina Gordeeva is a Russian figure skater who, with her late partner and husband Sergei Grinkov, was a two-time Olympian and four-time world champion. He was defibrilated three times on the ice by rescue workers and twice more in the parking lot, Nardiello said. Your contribution is much appreciated! She is known for her grace on the ice and has skated with various partners. We all just stared out at the lake.". He said there was nearly complete blockage of the beginning portion of Grinkov's anterior descending coronary artery, the one that is most often blocked in young men who die of heart attacks. Grinkov was by now a tall, strong young man of 19; his partner, not yet 15, measured 4ft 9in and weighed less than 6st. Please Community The change in skating rules for the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, making professionals eligible to compete, brought a second chance for the couple to win a gold medal. Guidelines. We all wish we could find that kind of feeling, thatperfect nuclear life. But things happened. "If you have a familial tendency to have atherosclerotic heart disease, it does not matter really whether you are an athlete or not," Varga said. Sharing the full story, not just the headlines. She cried and looked very small and vulnerable in her black mink coat. When they heard aboutthe change there was little debate about whether to return. Other athletes like Reggie Lewis, Hank Gathers and Len Bias have died suddenly in competition or at the peak of their careers. But it happens and is hard to understand. They became as close off the ice as they were on the ice. Katya was composed throughout theservice. And then she went to the cemetery. Sergei passed away on November 20, 1995 at the age of 28 in Lake Placid, New York, USA. Having won the Olympic gold medal in Calgary in 1988, they decided to retire and turn professional in 1990. Figure Skater Born in Russia #12. He lifted her, put her down and then just stepped back. He remained married until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1995. The song "The Man I love" by Ella Fitzgerald just came on the loudspeaker, which instantly reminded me of Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov's enchanting exhibition program to that song, skated in the Stars on Ice Tour in 1995, only months before Sergei's sudden death.