The Love Story That Touched Our Hearts 扣人心弦的爱情故事

卡罗尔·惠勒 谢琼 张家巽

I magine that you are 24 years old and your whole life—from the age of 4—has been devoted to one all encompassing1 pursuit， an activity that dominates your life and brings beauty， grace， and romance into the lives of millions of others. When you are 11， you find the perfect partner， with whom you can perform that activity in the most expressive， most exquisite way imaginable. The two of you grow together into a dream couple， personifying mastery of your common vocation and the most beautiful kind of loving relationship. When you are 19， you marry him. You have a child together， a charming little girl that you both dote on2. And then， suddenly， during a routine practice session， your mate， your love， your partner， stops， stumbles， falls， and dies of a heart attack， at 28. That is the tragic story of world class ice skater Ekaterina Gordeeva.

[2] Ekaterina and her husband， Sergei Grinkov， were the most winning pairs skaters on ice—in every way. You may have seen them yourself. If so， you’re not likely to have forgotten the tiny fragile Katia in the arms of her tall， strong， handsome partner， lovingly launched into3 the air， tenderly caught and enchantingly twirled around the ice in such devastatingly4 romantic numbers5 as“Romeo and Juliet”and “Vocalise”， which was based on the emotions expressed in The Kiss and other famous Rodin6 sculptures.

[3] Their performances were greeted with the ultimate accolades7—gold medals in two successive Olympics， four World Championships， and every other prize they sought.

[4] It was Ekaterina’s mother who sparked her determination to start remaking her life—by saying that she knew that little Dasha， having lost a father， needed at least “a healthy mom”. This prompted Ekaterina to ask a friend to send her skates. She realized， she says in her book， that “work is the only thing that can help people heal.”

[5] In February 1996， Ekaterina skated a moving tribute to Sergei which she performed to the music of Mahlers Symphony No.5. G&G’s8 favorite choreographer， Marina Zueva， created the program for her.

[6] Katia was nervous： It had been a long time since she has skated alone. She was afraid of the emotions the piece would evoke. It all simply exhausted her. But that night， her good friend Scott Hamilton told her， “Fill up the ice with yourself.”

[7] “And I could，” she said afterwards. And she did： Ekaterina glided onto the ice and performed perhaps more beautifully and movingly than ever before. “I felt huge， powerful， double strong9，” she said.

[8] No one who saw her that night will ever forget her performance， just as she will never forget her Sergei. But already we were learning， as she has learned， that the delicate， waif-like10 figure is a woman of great courage， strength， and artistry with a promising future before her. That sad farewell was the beginning of her new life.

想像一下你是24岁。从4岁开始你就把整个生命奉献給了一个无所不包的追求，一项支配你的生命并把美丽、优雅和浪漫情怀带进数百万人生活中去的活动。11岁时，你找到了理想的搭档，在他的配合下，你得以以所能想像到的最富表现力和最精湛的技法来实施那项活动。你俩一道成长为一对梦之侣，体现在你们在共同的事业上取得的成就，并且保持着最美好的爱恋关系。19岁时，你嫁给他。你们一起有了个孩子，一个迷人的小姑娘。你俩都对她十分钟爱。之后，在一次常规训练中，你的伴侣、你的爱人、你的夫君停下舞步，踉跄一下，跌倒在地，心脏病发，猝然死去，年仅28岁。这就是世界级优秀花样滑冰运动员叶卡婕琳娜·戈尔迪娃的悲剧故事。

[2]叶卡婕琳娜和她丈夫谢尔盖·格林科夫无论在哪一方面都是全世界最富魅力的一对双人滑运动员。你可能亲眼见过他俩的表演。如果见过，那你可能不会忘记那个身材娇小的卡佳（叶卡婕琳娜的爱称）是怎样由她高大、魁梧、英俊的搭档用双臂小心地抛向空中，然后被轻柔地接住，继而在冰面上做出令人着迷的旋转，背景音乐是极富有浪漫色彩的乐曲，比如“罗密欧与朱丽叶”及“无言歌”（练声曲），后者表达的情感源于罗丹的《吻》和他的其他著名雕塑。

[3]他们的精彩表现获得了很多最高奖励——连续两届奥运会的金牌，4次世界冠军以及他俩追求的其他奖牌。

[4]是叶卡婕琳娜的母亲点燃了她重建生活的决心，她妈妈说自己深知已经失去了父亲的小达莎起码需要“一个健康的妈妈”。这促使叶卡婕琳娜请求一个朋友给她送来她的滑冰鞋。她在自己写的一本书中说，她认识到，“只有工作能帮助人们治愈心灵创伤。”

[5] 1996年2月，叶卡婕琳娜为纪念谢尔盖举行了一场感人的滑冰表演，用的音乐是奥地利作曲家马勒的《第5交响乐》。他们俩最喜欢的舞蹈动作设计师马琳娜·祖耶娃为她编排了动作。

[6]卡佳感到很紧张：因为她独自一人滑冰已经是很久以前的事了。她害怕这次表演会引起自己的情绪波动。这担心简直使她精疲力竭。但那个晚上，她的好友斯科特·汉密尔顿对她说：“你要满场飞！”

[7]“我能。”她后来说。她确实做到了：叶卡婕琳娜轻盈地滑上冰场，滑出了比以往或许更为优美动人的舞姿。她说：“我觉得我棒极了，我很强大，加倍的坚强。”

[8]那天晚上观看她表演的人终生难忘她的演出，就像她永远忘记不了谢尔盖一样。但是我们已经意识到，正如她也意识到的那样，那个好像无所依傍的娇小女子其实是个无所畏惧、坚强有力且技艺超群的人——她前程无量。那场悲伤的告别演出是她新生活的起点。