My Sergei: A Love Story [Mass Market Paperback]

Ekaterina Gordeeva (Author), E. M. Swift (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

Thrown together as children by the Soviet regime and told to skate for the good of the state, Sergei Grinkov and Katia Gordeeva became the most celebrated pairs skaters in the world--falling madly in love, marrying, and having a beautiful baby daughter. But after winning two Olympic gold medals and four World Championships, Katia's world collapsed when Sergei suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 28. A deeply moving, heartfelt memoir of their remarkable lives, this is Katia's final love letter to her beloved Sergei. This edition will contain an epilogue written by Ekaterina Gordeeva. 16-page photo insert. National ads/media.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the former Soviet Union, the sports establishment, charged with producing winners for the greater glory of the empire, had almost unlimited power over the athletically gifted. Children as young as five or six were identified, sent to special schools and given rigorous training in the sports in which they were expected to excel. Two such youngsters were Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, paired as skaters by their teachers when they were 11 and 14, respectively. Throughout their training and into the start of their competitive careers, each thought of the other only as an athletic partner, partly because the four-year difference in their ages meant they had few friends in common. But as time passed and their joint career led to international championships, they fell in love and married. Their success culminated in Olympic gold medals in 1990 and 1994. And then, suddenly, Grinkov died of a heart attack in 1995 at age 28. The story of their love and their happiness together is deeply moving, and the final chapters are heartrending, while the many photos heighten the tale. First serial to People and Redbook; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov were one of the finest ice skating pairs in the world. Born in Russia, they won European championships, world championships, and gold medals at two Olympics. They married in 1991 and continued to perform after the birth of their daughter. Sergei died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 28 while rehearsing with his wife. Gordeeva here describes their skating and personal life in Russia and the United States in poignant, caring detail. Equally captivating are her descriptions of her childhood, her family, and her life as a champion and professional skater. Unlike recent tell-alls about figure skating (e.g., the Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding spectacle), this biography is not sensational. It simply tells the story of two hard-working, competitive young people who fell in love and whose love ended too soon. For all collections.
-?J. Sara Paulk, Coastal Plain Regional Lib., Tifton, Ga.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446605336
• ISBN-13: 978-0446605335
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,375,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most memorable stories ever..., May 2, 2001

By 

Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Sergei: A Love Story (Mass Market Paperback)

First things first -- grab your hankies and prepare yourself. The journey you are about to embark upon will leave you breathless and sobbing hopelessly.

Of course, we all remember the story of the sudden death of Ekaterina's true love and ice skating partner, Sergei Grinkov. What a heartbreaking day that was -- I didn't even know who they were but felt my own heart rip away anyway. Reading this book brought it all back to me with as much power and poignancy as if I had heard it for the first time. My Sergei chronicles the life of Ekaterina Gordeeva, young ice skater and Olympic medalist, from pre-skating to post-Sergei with lots of smiles and tears in between.

This book is not just for the ice skating fanatic or fans of Ekaterina and Sergei. It is for anyone who has lost someone special in their life or has ever felt a pure and true love like Katia did for Sergei. You will be weeping like a baby, but it is so very worth it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Sergei, October 4, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: My Sergei: A Love Story (Mass Market Paperback)

Performing in their flawless, elegant, and unique style, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov were the most celebrated pairs skaters of all time. Tragically, Their fairy-tale perfect story came to an end on November 20, 1995 when Sergei died of a heart attack at the age of twenty-eight. This book was appealing for its skating theme and tragic love story. Ice skating has always been a beautiful, elegant sport to all who watch, but we rarely know the full story behind the athletes we see. To learn about this couple who were initially partners on the ice and then partners in life seemed very interesting. They were two soul mates who were partners on and off the ice.

Ekaterina Gordeeva was a tiny, serious and very shy girl of eleven who was always obedient. Sergei Grinkov was a fun-loving, outgoing boy of fifteen. Both were talented and dedicated. They were mismatched kids paired together as chance. Ekaterina, or Katia as people call her, recalls this as the start of their relationship, although she knew none of it at the time.

Gordeeva and Grinkov (G & G as they were known) they won four World Championships and two Olympic gold medals. At their first Olympics, Katia did not think they really deserved a gold medal. They were with a strict coach who had them do plain non-original programs. There was no expressive movements or technical merit. Socially, Katia's experience was negative because she was only sixteen. She did not fit in with all the older kids, and often felt lonely. They would go to bars and leave her out. After the Olympics, Katia and Sergei felt it was time to switch coaches. They wanted better choreography and increased difficulty in their routines. One of their old coaches came back to them. Marina Zueva was an amazing creative choreographer and coach. She also had the best musical taste. She taught them new elements and facial moods to express when they skated. This was important to Katia because they were able to make their skating unique and interesting to watch.
Between training and competing, the couple fell madly in love. They managed to express their deep emotions for each other in a passionate skating style. They married and had a child a year later. Their daughter was born on September 11, 1992, and was named Daria. Their skating became even more inspired by the birth of Daria. Katia felt very fortunate and happy to have such a wonderful family. Sergei was her protector and would never do anything to harm her. It was almost like a fantasy. In their second Olympics, they did a program to the Moonlight Sonata and won gold. It was what they had been wishing for so long. "This one we won for each other." (page 226) Katia felt her goal had been finally reached.

On November 20, 1995, Katia and Sergei were doing a routine practice session with Marina. They were skating through their early movements of their developing program. They were supposed to do crossovers before a lift. "The full orchestra was just coming in, one of those high waves of music Marina liked so much. Sergei was gliding on the ice, but he didn't do the crossovers. His hand didn't go around my waist for the lift." (page 255) Sergei glided into the boards, then bent his knees and lay down on the ice carefully. Marina came over to him, and she knew it was a heart attack and started CPR on him. When he was brought to the hospital, the doctor gave him electric shocks and a shot of Adrenalin in the heart. However, they had lost Sergei. The next few weeks were a blur. There were many arrangements to be done and decisions to be made. Katia was very devastated and felt as if her life had ended also.
A celebration of Sergei's life was planned. Fellow skaters came together to put on a show, and Katia prepared a solo program. She was so emotional throughout the celebration. When she went out to skate her solo, it felt as if someone was holding her hand and guiding her. This was important to Katia because she wanted to be able to say goodbye to Sergei by doing the thing they had worked so hard on throughout their lives, skating.

While Katia was in the dreamy romance with her husband, she became very oblivious to the world around her. She was always dependent on Sergei to protect and guide her. Katia was afraid to trust people or say things that might hurt them. Also, she was afraid of what people might say about her. "Time I have learned, is a doctor. Skating has been the best medicine for me." (page 289) She felt that God was sending her a message, to open her eyes to the world and experience what it was like not to be so blessed. She is now learning the disappointments of life. Katia has a job of building a new life for Daria and herself. Katia is now reaching out to friends and being more interested in their lives. She is getting to know her parents again, and make up for all the time she was traveling away from home. Finally, she is learning that there are new things in life to discover. As for skating, she has yet to summon the courage to skate alone with only Sergei's spirit to guide her.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Love Story for the Ages, July 12, 2005

By 

Lorax - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Sergei: A Love Story (Hardcover)

It's been almost 10 years since Sergei Grinkov died. His widow is now remarried and has a four year old daughter with her new husband. And yet, that does not take away from the beauty of this book. It makes it a little easier to read - knowing that Katia came out the other side of her obvious heart-wrenching pain and allowed herself to find happiness and love again. The beauty of their story, the pain of that loss and her strength in picking up the pieces and going on with her life make a beautiful story that can be read over and over again (if you can stand the tears).

This book is honest - Katia does not sugar coat her own failings. In fact, in her recounting of their career, she seems to sometimes underestimate her own contribution to the pair and assigns failings to herself that were, in fact, Sergei's mistakes. She tells stories that could be (and have been) used to criticize her. And she does it fearlessly. This book is not their entire story, I am certain. But it is a beautiful rendition of their story told in Katia's words, and gives us a glimpse into their life which we could not have gotten anywhere else - which makes it even more special.

If you are a G&G fan and you have not read this ... where have you been? If you have never heard of Gordeeva & Grinkov ... or don't know much about them - read this book. It will capture your heart and make you fall in love with them. Then, watch their skating ... and you will be hooked forever.