Quotes From the Skating World
on Gordeeva and Grinkov

"It was heaven. He presented her so beautifully,
like a cherished little sister...They were so beautifully
in unison when they did their spins and jumps that you
didn't notice the difference in their size...They are
everything paris skaters should be."
--Sandra Bezic--
on G&G's 1988 Olympic performance
"A Magical Twosome" Sports Illustrated Feb 29, 1988

"This pair of Gordeeva and Grinkov has a style
that projects life and youth. You must skate
the way you are, and they are very simple and
natural people. Her smile is not something
she has to work on. It comes out of her heart.
--Victor Ryzhkin,
skating coach of CSKA--
"A Magical Twosome" Sports Illustrated Feb 29, 1988

An interviewer once asked Sergei if he
ever regretted or complained about his choice of Katia:

"Absolutely not, such a stupid question.
I love my wife very much and couldn't be
happier with my choice. In fact, we never argue
because nothing is so important and
everything is wonderful. And whenever
we have free time away from training
and performing, I don't want to do things
with anyone but Katia and Dasha.
Katia and I are always, always together,
and that's how I like it--how we like it."
--Sergei Grinkov--
G&G Corner

"When Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov were
with us, they brought a sense of family to Stars On Ice.
They had each other, their baby daughter Daria, and
their passion to skate. Sergei, who never learned to speak
English, but understood everything that was said, observed
us with his twinkling eyes, and his Cheshire cat smile. Katia,
radiant and warmhearted, loved to cook for Sergei, and
would sometimes bake her special tiramisu for the entire cast."
--Sandra Bezic--
The Passion to Skate

"Sergei loved to eat...
He didn't like turkey, but he liked sushi,
and so did Katia. He'd eat his, and finish hers, too."
--Brian Orser--
A Year In Figure Skating

"What they had is what everyone wants.
My first year on tour, I watched them
almost very night. I'd go out and stand in a corner,
and just watch them. They just floated across the ice."
-Kristi Yamaguchi--
Inside Edge

"Rosalynn Sumners and I stood on the ice
during a number last year as they skated, and we
always said to each other, 'Isn't that amazing?'
They way she looked at him, this power between them,
so beautiful and pure, yet so effortless in appearance.
They reminded me of Romeo and Juliet"
--Paul Wylie--
Inside Edge

"I could tell they had a real connection with each other
and that's what made them the perfect pairs team."
--Kristi Yamaguchi--
Figure Skating For Dummies

Michael Weiss and choreographer Audrey Weisiger
chose Beethoven as the theme for his 1997-98 artistic program.
Moonlight Sonata was immediately ruled out, because
G&G used it for their 1994 Olympic artistic program:

"I can't compete with that"
-Audrey Weisiger--
Edge of Glory

"Sergei's body was like a Greek god's.
And her body is just like a sculpture.
You can't add anything to them.
You just take what they have and
fix [the moment]. This moment,
how people love each other, is perfect.
I wanted to fix the moment for Sergei and
Katia forever, how they love each other."
--Marina Zoueva--
on Vocalise
A Year In Figure Skating

Katia and Sergei in the ending pose of Vocalise,
their breathtaking number inspired by the sculptures of Rodin

"After their Olympic Long program, the only mistake they made
was not skating long enough. And I think it was a natural feeling
for anybody who ever saw them skate. It just didn't go on
long enough, much like Sergei's life"
--Kurt Browning--

"There were screams and someone yelling,
'Call 911'...everyone had surrounded Sergei,
praying he would be all right... Sergei was strong
and young, just 28 years old. I couldn't comprehend
what was happening. I looked up and prayed to God,
'Don't do this. How unfair and horrible it would be
if something happened to him.'...the cast assembled
in the lobby of our hotel to wait for news...I made a run
to McDonalds to get everyone some food, but when we
returned to the inn, the mood in the room was somber
and quiet. Roz came up to me in tears and handed me
her cell phone. Bob Kain was on the line. 'Sergei's gone'
he said, sobbing. I had left for all of thirty minutes, and
when I came back, our whole world had changed."
--Scott Hamilton--
Landing It: My Life On and Off the Ice

"Sergei was there one minute, gone the next.
There is no way to describe the pain and shock of that."
--Paul Wylie--
Stars On Ice

"The loss of Sergei will never be throughly
understood or accepted. But having
shared in his perfection is something
we can carry with us always."
--Scott Hamilton--
Stars On Ice

"I don't know why this happened, but I know
that in a special way Sergei has touched my life.
The warmth of his heart and the love he gave to
his family, to skating, and to life is what resulted
in his perfection on the ice. Not only was he part of the
greatest pair team ever to skate, he was an even greater man.
--Kristi Yamaguchi--
Stars On Ice

"He was like a pillar. He was strong,
silent, and just very, very caring"
--Kurt Browning--
Stars On Ice

"He was very, very gentle...
It was harmony. As athletes,
as people, as a couple--harmony
Any program they did... it was a
kind of romance, a kind of love story
they told on the ice. The audience
was part of it. When we watched them,
we all breathed more clearly."
--Marina Zueva
G&G's choreographer--

"I keep thinking about Katia and Sergei...
about how much in love they were.
It was so clear, the way he treated her,
the way they touched each other."
--Barbara Underhill--

"You could see the power they had between them when they skated.
Their eyes never left each other during the whole performance.
No one else does that in pairs skating. It can be very distracting, looking
into someone else's eyes while you're skating, but it never was for them.
It was natural. You could just see how much they loved each other.
You would watch them and just wish you had that kind of relationship
with someone. We all wish we could find that kind of feeling,
that perfect nuclear life. So few people actually do."
--Paul Wylie--

"Love Story" Sports Illustrated , Dec 4 , 1995

What sticks in my mind most about [G&G]
is how humble they were. They never made
any demands. They were always so thankful
for everything. They always thought they were
lucky to be in Stars On Ice. I'd look at them
and say we are the ones who are thankful
that you are with us."
--Sandra Bezic--
A Year In Figure Skating

"They were everything together"
--Elena Bechke--

"They were just so special to have around.
It's not something that we're all just saying now.
We said it on a daily basis, 'Look at that! Look at them!'
I think they really valued what they were and what they had."
--Sandra Bezic--
A Year In Figure Skating

"We may never see their like again"
--An ISU Committee Member--
Figure Skating: A Celebration

"I can't ever remember a more difficult and emotional time.
But Katia was unbelievable, she was so strong.
I will always admire her strength."
--Kristi Yamaguchi--
Stars On Ice

"Just watching Katia throughout the day, it seemed like
it would be really difficult for her to perform [at Celebration Of A Life]
She seemed to be getting a little pale at rehearsal, and we were all
very concerned for her. But when it came time to do what she wanted
to do and pay tribute to Sergei, the courage and strength
and determination and love really came shining through."
--Scott Hamilton--
Stars On Ice

Katia smiles at the end of her Morning program

She looks so young and so
fragile, but, believe me, she has a
constitution of steel"
--Tom Hammond--
G&G Up Close

"Without Sergei, she has blossomed in a way
that maybe she would not have under his
protective arm. She had to go out on her own.
I can't imagine what is has been like for her,
but she always carried herself with so much dignity"
--Sandra Bezic--
Stars On Ice

"Katia was half of what everyone considered the perfect pair.
and then to go and skate singles, and when you have
never done it at all, that is incredible."
--Kristi Yamaguchi--
Stars On Ice

"I wonder if she misses being tossed in the air.
She was up there pretty high.
There's a freedom up there.
I wonder if she misses it."
--Rudy Galindo--
Edge of Glory

"When I saw her solo for the first time,
I stepped back to the boards to watch,
and she was so delightful. It's so wonderful
for me to see how she found her spirit and
how she's doing what she's loved to do all her life."
--Katarina Witt--
Stars On Ice

"She is something exquisite, completely exquisite.
We would all like for her to be the artist she is.
But do you know how hard that is, to go under spotlights
alone if you've never done it? It is so difficult."
--Sandra Bezic--
Stars On Ice

"She's been through a tragic time with her husband's death
but you almost forget when you see her. I mean, you do
forget, which is nice. because you should watch her and
enjoy her skating and not think about the sadness."
--Katarina Witt--
Stars On Ice

"We're all learning so much from her"
--Roz Sumners--

"Katia has taught us so much.
The thing about Sergei and Katia
is they were so elegant as people
and so undemanding and professional.
They were refined."
--Sandra Bezic--
Stars On Ice"

"What I realise now is that there are
no pat answers on how to deal with loss.
Even today, people ask me how long it took
to get over his death, and I have always
replied, 'I'm not over it.' The truth is,
I don't know if I ever will be."
--Scott Hamilton
Landing It: My Life On and Off the Ice

"You always said their names together,
and that's the way we'll always think of them.
The two of them, together."
--Paul Wylie--
Inside Edge

"This romance will last forever, because they love each other as nobody else can"
--Elena Bechke, after Celebration Of A Life--
Stars On Ice

The other day when we were reading The Little Mermaid again,
at the part where it says that only human souls can go
up to heaven and mermaids can't, you (Daria) said,
'See that's like Papa. He lives in heaven. With the angels' "
--Ekaterina Gordeeva --
Ekaterina Gordeeva: Overcoming Adversity

"Sometimes it bothers me that people now only
recognize me because of tragedy. But I've come
to understand that people really care and worry for me.
I feel I should say to every person I meet,
'I'm fine. Daria's fine. Life goes on.' "
--Ekaterina Gordeeva--
Ekaterina Gordeeva: Overcoming Adversity