Profile of Sergei Grinkov on Famous Like Me

Figure Skating
Gold	1988	Pairs
Gold	1994	Pairs

Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov (born February 4, 1967 - died November 20, 1995) was an Olympic and world figure skating champion.

Sergei Grinkov was born in Moscow, Russia to parents Mikhail Kondrateyevich Grinkov and Anna Filipovna Grinkova. The youngest of two children, he has an older sister named Natalia Mikhailovna Grinkova. He first took the ice at the age of 5. At a time in Soviet Union history when athletic children were identified, sent to special schools, and given rigorous training in their sport, at age fourteen he was paired with ten-year-old Ekaterina Gordeeva at the Central Red Army Club (CSKA) in Moscow. The pair won the 1985 World Junior Pairs Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Sergei Grinkov and his skating partner burst onto the international skating spotlight in 1986 when they won the first of their four World Figure Skating Championships. They became repeat world champions the following year and won gold at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. After a fall in their long program, they took silver at the World Championships in 1988, but they reclaimed that title in 1989 and successfully defended it again in 1990. They turned professional in the fall of 1990. They won their first World Professional Championship in 1991, and went on to win that title two more times (1992 & 1994).

Gordeeva & Grinkov won virtually every competition they entered. In the 31 competitions they completed at the Senior and professional levels, they finished first an impressive 24 times. After winning their first World Championship in 1986, they never finished lower than second place, and rarely took home anything but gold. They are one of the few pair teams in history to successfully complete a quadruple twist lift in international competition - at 1987 World Championships. They also completed the difficult maneuver at the 1987 European Championships, but due to a problem with Sergei's boot strap and a misunderstanding about the rules, they were disqualified from that event.

By 1989, their skating partnership had blossomed into romance, and they married in April 1991 (the state wedding was on April 20, the church wedding was on April 28). The following season was the first year they toured with Stars on Ice. They skated throughout the United States and Canada with the show, which ran from November 1991 through April 1992. Then, on September 11, 1992, Ekaterina gave birth to their daughter, Daria Sergeevna Grinkova (nicknamed 'Dasha'), born in Morristown, New Jersey. Shortly after Daria's birth, the pair was back on the ice training for the new season of Stars on Ice, which debuted that November. During that year, fans were thrilled to learn that G&G, as they were known, would return to the ranks of eligible skating to compete in the next Olympics.

In 1994 Sergei Grinkov and his wife returned to Olympic competition and captured their second gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Oppland, Norway. After these Olympics, they returned once again to professional skating and took up residence in Simsbury, Connecticut. During the 1994-95 season, they toured, yet again, with Stars on Ice, this time as headliners. However, tragedy struck in November of 1995, when Sergei Grinkov collapsed and died from a massive heart attack at Lake Placid, New York while he and his wife were practicing for their upcoming performance in the 1995-96 "Stars on Ice" tour.

Sergei Grinkov is interred in the Vagan'kovskoye Cemetery in Moscow. Ekaterina Gordeeva, his widow, along with a cast of luminaries from the skating world, skated a tribute in Sergei's honor titled "Celebration of a Life" in Februrary 1996 which was later televised. Ekaterina also authored a book about their life and partnership titled My Sergei: A Love Story, which was later turned into a television movie/docudrama and released on DVD. He was also the subject of a book, geared towards the 9-12 age group, titled They died too young: Sergei Grinkov written by Anne E. Hill. Sergei Grinkov continues to be remembered, and missed, by a legion of fans and his skating with Ekaterina continues to caputure the attention and adoration of new fans, to this day thanks to video and DVD performances of their skating.

Quote

“Our honor depends on our honesty.” — Sovetskiy Sport (April 15, 1987).

In Russian: “Наша честь зависит от нашей честности.” — Советский спорт от 15 апреля 1987 года.

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