About Ekaterina Gordeeva
Ekaterina "Katia" Alexandrovna Gordeeva (Russian: Екатерина Александровна Гордеева; born 28 May 1971) is a Soviet and Russian figure skater. With her late husband Sergei Grinkov, she is the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion, a four-time World Champion (1986, 1987, 1989, 1990), a three-time European Champion (1988, 1990, 1994), the 1990 Goodwill Games champion, 1987 Soviet champion, and 1994 Russian champion in pair skating. After Grinkov's death, Gordeeva continued performing as a singles skater. == Early life == Gordeeva was born on 28 May 1971 in Moscow, Russia, then part of the Soviet Union. Her father, Alexander Alexeyevich Gordeev, was a dancer for the Alexandrov Song and Dance Ensemble, while her mother, Elena Lvovna Gordeeva, is a teletype operator for TASS. Gordeeva has a younger sister. Gordeeva has stated, "[My father] worked with me on movement very often when I was little." == Pairs career == Gordeeva began figure skating at age four, when she entered Children and Youth Sports School of CSKA Moscow. She wore multiple pairs of socks inside skates many sizes too big because skates small enough for her feet were unavailable in the Soviet Union. She was not a particularly strong jumper, and in August 1981, coach Vladimir Zaharov paired the 10-year-old Gordeeva with the 14-year-old Sergei Grinkov. Because Grinkov frequently missed practice, their coach eventually insisted that Gordeeva pair with someone else, but she refused. Instead, the pair changed coaches.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.