Book 16, 2026

[chez_jae]

My Sergei: A Love Story by Ekaterina Gordeeva

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


View all my reviews

Last night, I finished reading My Sergei by Ekaterina Gordeeva. It’s the account of her relationship with her skating partner, Sergei Grinkov. I chose to read it in February because it’s both a celebration of love and for the Olympics aspect.

As a child skater in Russia, Katia is paired with Sergei, a boy four years older than she. The story recounts their journey as skating partners, from learning the basics of pairs skating to winning championships and Olympic gold. Along the way, Katia and Sergei progress from partners to friends to lovers and eventually to husband and wife and parents to daughter Daria. Theirs was a magical love story, which shone through on the ice, until Sergei tragically died of a heart attack at age 28.

This was a difficult read, since I knew how it was going to end. I still remember how shocked and saddened I was to learn that Sergei Grinkov had passed away. The story was compelling, however. It was interesting to learn about life in the Soviet Union and how things changed when the USSR broke apart, all told in Katia’s matter-of-fact manner. The love that she had for Sergei was so deep and abiding, which was both uplifting and heartbreaking. They burned so brightly, both in skating and in love, that it seemed almost inevitable that it couldn’t last.

Favorite lines:
♦ Any day I’m living now, I would exchange for any day in the past.
♦ I was such a sad, funny little mom.
♦ After the fighting is over, don’t swing your fists.

Not an easy read, but poignant and evocative. Five stars.