The pathologist who conducted an autopsy on Sergei Grinkov, a Russian pairs skater who won two Olympic gold medals, revealed the cause of his premature death: a painless heart attack that happened during the final 24 hours of his life. Dr. C. Francis Varga, a pathologist, concluded that Grinkov’s enlarged heart resulted from untreated hypertension and the virtually total blockage of two coronary arteries.
The preliminary analysis of Grinkov’s death concluded that drug misuse was not a contributing factor. Also during the press conference, Dr. Varga said that he found no evidence of steroid usage and that, based on his investigation, the possibility of steroid use was low. Grinkov “was obviously in very excellent condition except for this one issue,” Varga added, despite his athletic frame and lack of obvious chronic steroid usage. State authorities, however, will conduct more steroid and drug testing.
Sergei Grinkov’s Cause of Death
On November 20th, 1995, as Grinkov and Gordeeva were rehearsing for the impending 1995–1996 Stars on Ice tour in Lake Placid, New York, he suddenly fell and died of a major heart attack. Later tests indicated that Grinkov also had a hereditary risk factor related to early heart attacks; doctors determined that the heart attack was caused by highly congested coronary arteries (with his artery opening allegedly being the size of a pinhole).
The risk factor is referred to as the PLA-2 variation or the Grinkov Risk Factor. Grinkov’s age at that time was specified as 28. His daughter was three, and his wife was 24. A gravestone for Grinkov may be seen at Moscow’s Vagan’kovskoye Cemetery. His wife, Gordeeva, and a group of skating stars performed a tribute in his honor in February 1996 called “Celebration of a Life,” which was eventually shown on television.
In addition, Gordeeva wrote a book about their relationship titled My Sergei: A Love Story, which was adapted into a docudrama/television movie for television and published on DVD under the same name. Anne E. Hill wrote a book on him titled They Died Too Young: Sergei Grinkov for kids aged 9 to 12.
Sergei Grinkov Career
At the tender age of five, Grinkov enrolled in the CSKA Children and Youth Sports School in Moscow, where he began his ice skating career. Because Grinkov was not a particularly good solo skater, his coach decided to give him a shot at pair skating. In August 1981, when he was fourteen years old, Grinkov was paired with Ekaterina Gordeeva, then eleven years old, by Grinkov’s coach Vladimir Zaharov at the Central Red Army Club (CSKA) in Moscow.
In 1985, the two of them swept the World Junior Championship in Colorado Springs. They won their first of four consecutive World Figure Skating Championships the year after. The following year, they repeated as world champions and also took home gold from the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. As one of the youngest male Olympic winners in figure skating, Grinkov made history.
Due to a slip during the long program, they had to settle for second place at the World Championships in 1988, but they went on to win gold in 1989 and retain their title in 1990. In the latter months of 1990, they made the decision to pursue music professionally. In 1991, they won their first World Professional Championship, and in 1993, 1995, and 2016, they won it for a record-tying third time (1992 and 1994).
ekaterina gordeeva and sergei grinkov’s lift in their free skate at the 1994 lillehammer olympics pic.twitter.com/KlXjFbRuIO
— figure skating gifs (@figureskatings) January 23, 2021
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Personal Life of Sergei Grinkov
Natalia Mikailovna Grinkova was an elder sibling of Sergei Grinkov, who was born to Anna Filipovna Grinkova and Mikhail Kondrateyevich Grinkov in Moscow. In April of 1991, he wed Ekaterina Gordeeva. Because the USSR did not acknowledge religious events, there were really two of them.
The civil ceremony was held on April 20, with the religious ceremony taking place at a Russian Orthodox church on April 28. Gordeeva gave birth to their daughter Daria Sergeyevna Grinkova on September 11, 1992, and the family moved to Morristown, New Jersey. They moved to Simsbury, Connecticut, after the Olympic Games in 1994.
Daria started skating competitively at the age of 9, and she and her mother appeared in various skating performances between 2003 and 2007 until Daria eventually gave up skating to pursue other hobbies. Daria, however, still competes in amateur skating alongside her mom. Grinkov’s father passed away in 1991 due to cardiac issues. His mother passed away in Moscow the year 2000.
Soviet figure skaters Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov at the World Figure Skating Championships in Geneva, Switzerland, 1986 pic.twitter.com/WOtnzD6tVy
— Soviet Visuals (@sovietvisuals) March 16, 2021
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Last Lines
Sergei Grinkov, a Russian pairs skater who won two Olympic gold medals, died unexpectedly from a painless heart attack, according to the doctor who performed the autopsy.
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