Ekaterina Gordeeva
The Soviet Union developed a strong tradition of competitive figure skating across the latter decades of the twentieth century, producing athletes who competed at international levels. Ekaterina Gordeeva, born on May 28, 1971, in Moscow, came out of that tradition and built a career as a pair skater representing both the Soviet Union and Russia.
Gordeeva competed as a Russian pair skater, working within a sporting culture shaped by Soviet-era institutions. Beyond her time as a competitor, she has also worked as a sports commentator, extending her involvement with figure skating into its broadcast dimension. Her career thus spans two distinct professional roles within the sport she practiced from an early age in Moscow.
Her accomplishments were recognized through several formal honors. She received the Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR, the Order of Friendship of Peoples, and the Order "For Personal Courage." These distinctions cover both the Soviet and post-Soviet periods of her life, reflecting her standing across different phases of her career. Gordeeva holds citizenship in Russia, in addition to her origins as a citizen of the Soviet Union, and the honors awarded to her across those two contexts mark the recognized scope of her work as an athlete and public figure in the sport.
Quotes by Ekaterina Gordeeva
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.’
So I step into the future, as bravely as I’m able, with my heart longing for a time I’ll never see again.
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'
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.'
So I step into the future, as bravely as I'm able, with my heart longing for a time I'll never see again.
Through everything when you have these experiences in life it is important to remember the simple fact that family is always the main thing and most important part of your life.
The life is a wonderful thing. You have to appreciate it NOW... because you never know what is going to happen tomorrow.
