My Sergei

November 4, 1996
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.

July 1, 1996
Gold Medal-winning figure skater Gordeeva, whose partner/husband died last year at 28, on their time together.

October 1, 1996
Even without its subtitle, this poignant story is likely to remind some readers of Eric Segal's "Love Story." Both are tearjerkers, but this one really happened. Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov met in Russia when she was 11 and he was 15. Put together by the state as a skating duo, they went on to win world championships and gold medals. They also fell in love. Gordeeva chronicles all of the glory and the romance, but it's only a prelude to the tragedy we know is coming. In 1995, after the couple married and became the parents of a daughter, Grinkov had a heart attack during a routine skating practice and died. Coauthor E. M. Swift captures Gordeeva's voice as well as the world-weariness the skater feels. Although she is back in the rink and taking care of her daughter, she says quite plainly that she has little interest in the future. "I'd like to live my life over again backward . . . any day I am living now, I'd exchange for a day in the past." Expect extensive promotion and widespread interest. The book will be illustrated with two eight-page color inserts and 40 black-and-white photos. ((Reviewed Oct. 1, 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)

November 15, 1996
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. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/96.]--J. Sara Paulk, Coastal Plain Regional Lib., Tifton, Ga.