Ekaterina Gordeeva was born in Moscow, Russia on May 28, 1971. Her mother was a teletype operator for Tass, a Soviet news agency. Alexander Gordeev, her father, was a folk dancer with the Moiseev Dance Company, a famous dancing troupe. Early on, he wanted Katia to be a ballerina, even pushing her to try out for a ballet school. Katia purposely did badly at the ballet school so she could do what she really loved. Katia loved to skate.
Katia started to skate at the age of 4 1/2. She trained at the Central Red Army Club. Even at a young age, she was very disciplined, often waking her parents early in the morning so she could get to the rink on time.
This discipline paid off. After having a very successful skating career with her late partner and husband, Sergei Grinkov, she is now one of the top professional ladies skaters. Katia is known for her graceful, flowing style of skating. She is a beautiful, artistic skater with perfect bodyline as well as impeccable technique. Katia makes even the most difficult moves look easy.
Katia looks to Marina Zueva, her longtime choreographer, for guidance in her skating programs. She looks to her mother, Elena, for guidance in her life. Her mother helps her to raise her daughter, Daria, much as Katia's babushka helped raise her.
While not on tour, Katia now spends most of her time living and training in Simsbury, CT.
Born: May 28, 1971-Moscow, RUS
Hometown: Simsbury, CT and Moscow, RUS
Training Town: Simsbury, CT
Children: 1-Daria Grinkova
Coach: Marina Zoueva
Choreographer: Marina Zoueva
*1990 World Professional Championships-1st
*1991 World Challenge of Champions-1st
*1991 World Professional Championships-1st
*1994 Olympic Winter Games-1st
1997 U.S. Professional Championships-2nd
1998 World Challenge of Champions-3rd
*While competing with late husband Sergei Grinkov in pairs
A Kind of Magic: An Ekaterina Gordeeva Fan Page
The Gordeeva & Grinkov Corner
Amelia's Skating Heaven
Dariland
On the Ice: Ekaterina GordeevaAll photos on this page © J. Barry Mittan
