A Happy Ending
Katie Gordeeva and Ilia Kulik's Leap of Faith
By Kathleen Bangs • Photos by M. David Leeds
The happy family: (from left to right) Daria, Katia Gordeeva, Ilia Kulik and Liza posed for a family portrait outside the International Skating Center of Connecticut.
The couple lives in Connecticut but has a wide circle of Russian friends across the United States.
While they both guest star with Stars on Ice, the two spend most of their time in Connecticut with their family.
Katia Gordeeva and Ilia Kulik showed their playful sides on a beautiful afternoon in May.
When Katia Gordeeva and Ilia Kulik fell in love, they took their new relationship one step further than your typical new couple by leaping out of an airplane together and parachuting to the ground. But Gordeeva and Kulik were anything but typical. When they first met in 1998, Gordeeva’s fame far exceeded the sport of figure skating. She was a two-time Olympic pairs champion, and the widow of husband and on-ice partner Sergei Grinkov, who died in 1995 at the age of 28.
Gordeeva and Grinkov’s story of love, triumph and tragedy, fueled by a best-selling book, a movie and countless articles, quickly captured the hearts of people worldwide. Most expected that Gordeeva, a lifelong pairs skater on her own and a single mother to daughter Daria, would slip quietly into retirement after her husband’s death. But they underestimated the resilient champion. At the urging of longtime friend Scott Hamilton, she joined the Stars on Ice tour as a solo performer.
Enter Ilia Kulik. He was an instant hot commodity as the newly crowned 1998 Olympic men’s champion from the Games in Nagano. Only a few years earlier, after a less-than-stellar showing at the 1994 World Junior Championships, his competitive future was uncertain at best. “It was the worst event of my life,” said Kulik of the competition. “I was expected to win, or at least make the podium, because the year before I took bronze. Instead, it was a disaster.
After winning my qualifying round and placing second in the short program, I fell to 16th in the free skate. The best thing about that big loss was that it made me think [that] I had to really evaluate what I was doing wrong and in what ways I needed to adjust my technique and fix my skating. In the end, it was that failure that made a huge impact.
“It was a great wake-up call,” he said with a laugh. “Every athlete has his wake-up call, and that was mine. It was then that I realized just being good is not enough, and I took the huge steps you have to take to become very good.”
Professional Relationship
Kulik successfully took those steps, and after winning the Olympic title, he landed on the Stars on Ice tour, as a castmate to the beautiful Katia Gordeeva.
Gordeeva, now 36, recalled, “I liked Ilia right away. I didn’t fall in love with him right away, but he seemed brave to me in every aspect and I respected that. Ilia is young at heart, and his personality connects to you like a clever boy. Yet, he was also experienced at life in so many ways. Like me, he’s a Gemini — a sign with two personalities.”
Gordeeva also found Kulik funny and interesting, and in no time he was choreographing a group number that included both of them. “For that program, there were four skaters, and I ended up skating with him a little bit and it was very exciting,” Gordeeva said. “When you work together, you get closer and closer, and begin to see and feel who a person is.”
Yet, Gordeeva remained reluctant to think of the younger Kulik, now 30, as anything more than a friend. “He was six years younger, which at the time seemed a lot. And I had my daughter Daria to consider,” Gordeeva said. “I knew that some people, both in the sport and outside of it, would think that maybe this was not right or maybe not the right time for me.”
The friendship continued to grow and Gordeeva felt that Kulik was falling in love with her. “I understood that I needed to be with him,” she said. “I knew I felt better when I was with him, I knew I wanted to be with him, and he was great with Daria — like a friend to her.”
Kulik said he and Gordeeva felt a natural connection. “Right away we just enjoyed each other’s company, and liked to do things to help each other at the rink,” Kulik said. “Sometimes, for instance, I’d help Katia with her jumps or we’d skate together. I think what made it work for us was that it was just natural.”
During a tour break in California, Kulik approached Gordeeva to accompany him on his first-ever parachute jump. The spirited Gordeeva jumped at the chance, and the adventurous duo headed to a small local airport. “In the back of my mind I always wanted to have this experience of jumping out of an airplane,” Gordeeva explained. “I thought the tour managers wouldn’t let us do it, especially during the actual tour, in case we got injured or worse, but they did.”
Fellow skaters Denis Petrov and Gorsha Sur decided to come along. “I was very scared, but also really excited. Once we got to the place, I was thinking how stupid I was because really the hardest thing is to just go to the parachute school,” Gordeeva said with a laugh. “Once they have you and you’re up in the plane, that’s it — you’re going to jump.”
By the time the big day came and they actually took the plunge, Gordeeva was already in love with Kulik. “I think you have to be very inspired to do something like that, and I was,” she said.
Looking back, Kulik said that the first year on the Stars on Ice tour was a lot like joining a team that is akin to family. Yet spending so much time on the road left him feeling like he wanted to shake things up a little and do something even more extraordinary than performing to thunderous applause. “We were younger then, and a bit more reckless and much more adventurous, especially me,” he said. “I was nervous about Katia making the parachute jump, but not at all nervous for myself. I had found a good school with very professional instructors, so I felt we were safe, especially as we were making tandem jumps with experienced instructors.”
Neither one can remember who jumped first. “You really don’t want to miss hitting your target — the drop zone — and everything is happening so fast you barely realize the details like who was first out the door,” Kulik said.
Gordeeva vividly remembered the sensation of the plummeting free fall. “My mouth was wide open, screaming really loudly, and my stomach was freezing because of how cold the air was,” she said. “It was amazing to see the ground rushing up!”
Kulik said before the parachute deployed it felt just like floating in the air. “You almost forget about pulling the chute. The instructor tells you to watch the altimeter, because at a certain altitude you’re going to pull the cord,” Kulik recalled. “We had a cameraman falling with us who was so close you could almost reach out and touch him. It was truly one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had!”
Wedding Bells and Family Life
In June 2002, the couple married in California and moved to their current home near their training rink in Simsbury, Conn. In addition to Daria, they are the parents of an adorable daughter Liza, who turned 6 in June.
“Once you have a family,” Kulik said, “your perspective changes.” The two still tour, now as special guest stars with Stars on Ice, which allows them to skate in about half the shows. The arrangement allows them a steady opportunity to continue doing what they love — performing — and still have enough time at home as dedicated parents to one young daughter and one teenager.
“Being a dad to a teen is an everyday challenge,” Kulik said. “It tests my human qualities and my character. Dasha (a nickname for Daria) turns 15 later this year, and I enjoy it. For me it’s a little sooner than I thought I would be a father to a teenager, so I talk to other parents for advice because it’s a learning curve. She’s a great girl and I think in any event, it’s easier to be the father to a teenage daughter than to be the mother.”
Kulik said the couple’s younger daughter, Liza, is at an age where he and his wife are enjoying every minute of the experience. “She’s filled with so much energy and has such a sweet disposition,” he said.
When asked how vested he is in possible future skating careers for either girl, Kulik was candid. “If they pursue it and it becomes important to them, then it will matter to me,” he explained. “Katia and I have definitely introduced them to the sport and encourage and support them by showing the good side of the skating life, but it’s up to them to decide if they want to make it a major part of their life.”
Gordeeva said that for right now, Daria’s friends are everything to her. “She loves to be on the phone for hours and hours, just like a normal kid.
“She likes nice clothes, but also puts in the work to get her homework done and do good in school. She definitely wants to attend college, and so far she has been able to combine competitive skating [at the intermediate level] and school.”
Gordeeva spent all of her formative years growing up in Russia, and she and husband Kulik still speak their native language at home with the kids to keep them bilingual.
“Daria is definitely American,” Gordeeva said. “Her life is so different than how I grew up, or even how Ilia grew up back in Russia. Our lives were skating, and we had no normal life. I enjoyed that and didn’t need anything else, but Daria is not me — she’s a different person.”
Liza is definitely interested in skating. “She loves to move to the music, she just goes,” Gordeeva said. “She expresses herself so easily and can stay on the ice forever. I’m getting tired, and she’s still going. Yet, I know there’s a very thin line to not put too much pressure on a young child, and I’m still her mother, so I have to juggle pushing her without being too tough. One of Liza’s greatest assets is that she is not afraid to fall on the ice. She knows how to fall and quickly recover. She’s also very focused.”
Kulik spent two years training older daughter Daria on her jump technique, taking her all the way through doubles. “Teaching is very interesting for me,” he said. “I like to pass on knowledge, and it actually helps give me a perspective on my own skating. Now when I teach inexperienced or younger skaters I see how very difficult mastering each new task is. I treasure the gift I was given to be able to do the most difficult jumps. There is a little bit of magic in teaching. Every single time something special can happen.”
Kulik is still widely regarded as one of the best jumpers in the world.
Even at age 30, the Olympic champion can still reel off impressively airy triple jumps that rival those of many current eligible skaters.
Kulik downplays any discussion of how he would rank if, as a number of other recent Russian Olympic champions are reportedly considering, he were to return to amateur status. “Right now, it’s a very different level of skating and I’m no longer at that World Championship level,” he said. “I have good technique and am strong, but I’m happy with where my skating is at right now and I wouldn’t attempt to come back. It may look effortless when I perform in shows, but to compete is a completely different world. You have to bring your best game every single day, and be strong with the audiences, the judges and the other competitors. It’s just a completely different ballgame.”
In addition to conducting training sessions at his Simsbury rink, Kulik also teaches special seminars, including an annual one in Switzerland where elite amateur skaters come to absorb his special talent as a jump technician.
Gordeeva said the family travels with Kulik on the Switzerland excursions, spending the time every summer as a month-long vacation in the Alps. “The air is so fresh,” Gordeeva said. “Since we’re already in the middle of Europe we take trips to Italy or France and just love it.”
A Changing Landscape
Gordeeva said the two do not really miss living in their native country. “We have plenty of work, and that’s the main thing for us. It’s the most important reason we moved to America, and the reason we stay,” she said. “For so long there was nothing in Russia if you were a pro skater, although that has recently changed. We were offered the chance to appear on the popular Russian ‘Skating With Celebrities’-type TV show, but had to decline because we don’t want to disrupt the girls’ schooling.”
Both Kulik and Gordeeva said their extended network of Russian skaters and friends throughout America also helps keep any feelings of homesickness at bay. When she first arrived in the United States, Gordeeva said she was skeptical that she would enjoy Americans, but now says she enjoys the humor, and realizes that in the end, all people share the same wants and needs.
As far as skating in Russia goes, three years ago, after a decade-long absence, Gordeeva finally got to perform for Russian audiences when her former on-ice pairs rival and longtime friend Artur Dmitriev hosted a show in St. Petersburg. He accompanied Gordeeva onto the ice. “It was an incredible experience. I’ll never forget it,” Gordeeva said. “I hadn’t skated in Russia since I skated with Sergei, and I was amazed by the audience response.
“The arena was packed, and it’s just a very different experience to perform at home. You are in your own homeland. No matter where else I skate, even in Europe, I realize to some extent that I am a guest in that country. But to skate at home brought a sense of national pride that was strong, and I became so emotional to see how much the Russian people still cared about me.”
Both Gordeeva and Kulik said they hope someday to perform together in Russia, especially as the public’s interest in figure skating back home has soared in recent years. “The great thing about Katia is that to just watch her on the ice is to know her,” Kulik added. “There is no trick behind her, she is who she is — emotional, true and natural. I guess that’s why people love to watch her skate, and one of the reasons I love her too.”
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