Ilia Kulik
Encyclopedia
Ilia Alexandrovich Kulik ' onMouseout='HidePop("22299")' href="/topics/Moscow">Moscow
, Russian SFSR) is a Russia
n figure skater. He is the 1998 Olympic Champion
, the 1995 European Champion
, the 1997–1998 Grand Prix Final champion
, and the 1995 World Junior champion
.
title and then, a few months later, the 1995 European
title, at the age of 17. He was ninth at his first senior World Championships
. The next season, he won silver at the 1996 World Championships
. During the 1997-98 season, Kulik won gold at the 1997 NHK Trophy
and silver at the 1997 Skate Canada International
to qualify for the Champion Series Final
(now known as the Grand Prix Final) where he won the gold medal. He also won the Russian national title
but missed the 1998 European Championships
as a result of back problems. At the 1998 Olympics
, Kulik placed first in both the short and long programs and won the Olympic title at the age of 20.
Kulik withdrew from the 1998 World Championships
due to his recurring back injury. He retired from competitive skating and has focused on performing in shows. Kulik has skated with the Stars on Ice
tour, shows in Russia, the 2009 Ice All Stars
, the 2010 Festa On Ice
. In 1999, he skated a duet with his wife, Ekaterina Gordeeva.
Kulik also ventured briefly into acting, playing the role of Sergei, a Russian dancer, in the 2000 ballet-themed movie Center Stage
.
He married Ekaterina Gordeeva
in San Francisco on June 10, 2002. They have one daughter, Elizaveta Ilinichna Kulik (born June 15, 2001). Gordeeva has one daughter, Daria Sergeevna Grinkova (born September 11, 1992), from her first marriage to her late husband and skating partner, Sergei Grinkov
. The family lived in California for several years before moving to Avon, Connecticut in 2003. They returned to the Los Angeles area in the summer of 2007 and currently reside in Newport Beach.
(with Ekaterina Gordeeva
)
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russian SFSR) is a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n figure skater. He is the 1998 Olympic Champion
Figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics
-Medal table:-Medalists:-Men:The favourites and top two after the short program were Ilia Kulik and Elvis Stojko, who would skate first and last, respectively. Medal contenders Alexei Yagudin, Todd Eldredge and Philippe Candeloro went in between...
, the 1995 European Champion
European Figure Skating Championships
The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...
, the 1997–1998 Grand Prix Final champion
Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final is an international, senior-level figure skating competition. It is the culmination of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Skaters compete in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing....
, and the 1995 World Junior champion
World Junior Figure Skating Championships
The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion...
.
Career
Kulik began skating at the age of five. In November 1994, he won the 1995 World Junior1995 World Junior Figure Skating Championships
The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual event sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion. The 1995 competition took place in Budapest, Hungary.-Medals table:...
title and then, a few months later, the 1995 European
1995 European Figure Skating Championships
The 1995 European Figure Skating Championships were the European Figure Skating Championships of the 1995-1996 season. Elite senior-level figure skaters from European ISU Member Nations competed for the title of European Champion...
title, at the age of 17. He was ninth at his first senior World Championships
1995 World Figure Skating Championships
The 1995 World Figure Skating Championships were the World Figure Skating Championships of the 1994-1995 season. Elite senior-level figure skaters from ISU Member Nations competed for the title of World Champion...
. The next season, he won silver at the 1996 World Championships
1996 World Figure Skating Championships
The 1996 World Figure Skating Championships were the World Figure Skating Championships of the 1995-1996 season. Elite senior-level figure skaters from ISU Member Nations competed for the title of World Champion. Skaters competed in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating,...
. During the 1997-98 season, Kulik won gold at the 1997 NHK Trophy
1997 NHK Trophy
The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition. Elite figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The location changes yearly...
and silver at the 1997 Skate Canada International
1997 Skate Canada International
The 1997 Skate Skate Canada International was the Skate Canada International Grand Prix competition of the 1997–1998 figure skating season. It was the second event of six in the 1997–1998 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. Skaters earned...
to qualify for the Champion Series Final
1997–1998 Champions Series Final
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final is an elite figure skating competition. Its name is often abbreviated "Grand Prix Final". Skaters compete in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing....
(now known as the Grand Prix Final) where he won the gold medal. He also won the Russian national title
1998 Russian Figure Skating Championships
The 1998 Russian Figure Skating Championships is held annually to determine the Russian national champions. Skaters compete in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing...
but missed the 1998 European Championships
1998 European Figure Skating Championships
The 1998 European Figure Skating Championships were the European Figure Skating Championships of the 1997-1998 season. Elite senior-level figure skaters from European ISU Member Nations competed for the title of European Champion...
as a result of back problems. At the 1998 Olympics
Figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics
-Medal table:-Medalists:-Men:The favourites and top two after the short program were Ilia Kulik and Elvis Stojko, who would skate first and last, respectively. Medal contenders Alexei Yagudin, Todd Eldredge and Philippe Candeloro went in between...
, Kulik placed first in both the short and long programs and won the Olympic title at the age of 20.
Kulik withdrew from the 1998 World Championships
1998 World Figure Skating Championships
The 1998 World Figure Skating Championships were the World Figure Skating Championships of the 1997-1998 season. Elite senior-level figure skaters from ISU Member Nations competed for the title of World Champion...
due to his recurring back injury. He retired from competitive skating and has focused on performing in shows. Kulik has skated with the Stars on Ice
Stars on Ice
Stars on Ice is a touring figure skating show produced by IMG. It was originally conceived in 1986 as a vehicle for IMG client Scott Hamilton, who had been released from his contract with Ice Capades, after being told that male skaters do not sell tickets...
tour, shows in Russia, the 2009 Ice All Stars
Ice All Stars
Ice All Stars is a figure skating show produced by IB sports and sponsored by Samsung Electronics. The show was headlined by former IB client Kim Yu-Na....
, the 2010 Festa On Ice
Festa On Ice
Festa on Ice is a figure skating show that IB Sports produced. 2010 Winter Olympic champion Kim Yu-Na is a former client of IB Sports, which is a sports agency based on Seoul, South Korea.-2010 Festa on Ice:...
. In 1999, he skated a duet with his wife, Ekaterina Gordeeva.
Kulik also ventured briefly into acting, playing the role of Sergei, a Russian dancer, in the 2000 ballet-themed movie Center Stage
Center Stage
Center Stage is a 2000 American drama film, directed by Nicholas Hytner, about a group of young dancers from various backgrounds who enroll at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York City...
.
Personal life
Kulik has one sibling, sister Svetlana, who also lives in California. His parents live in Russia.He married Ekaterina Gordeeva
Ekaterina Gordeeva
Ekaterina "Katia" Alexandrovna Gordeeva is a Russian figure skater. Together with her late partner and husband Sergei Grinkov, she was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and four-time World Champion in pair skating...
in San Francisco on June 10, 2002. They have one daughter, Elizaveta Ilinichna Kulik (born June 15, 2001). Gordeeva has one daughter, Daria Sergeevna Grinkova (born September 11, 1992), from her first marriage to her late husband and skating partner, Sergei Grinkov
Sergei Grinkov
Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov was a Russian pair skater. Together with partner Ekaterina Gordeeva, he was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and four-time World Champion.-Biography:...
. The family lived in California for several years before moving to Avon, Connecticut in 2003. They returned to the Los Angeles area in the summer of 2007 and currently reside in Newport Beach.
Programs
| Season | Short program | Long program | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–2003 | The Nutcracker Suite Ballet Suite Op 71A by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"... ----Piano Concerto in A Minor Edvard Grieg Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in... and Jeno Jando Jeno Jandó Jenő Jandó is a Hungarian pianist and Professor of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary.He studied piano at the Liszt Academy with Katalin Nemes and Pál Kadosa, later going on to win many major international piano competitions, including the Georges Cziffra and Ciani Piano... |
||
| 2001–2002 | Rendezvous ----Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker The Nutcracker The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St... by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"... |
||
| 2000 | Devil's Trill Sonata Devil's Trill Sonata The Violin Sonata in G minor, more famously known as the Devil's Trill Sonata is a famous work for solo violin by Giuseppe Tartini , famous for being extremely technically demanding, even today.... by Giuseppe Tartini Giuseppe Tartini Giuseppe Tartini was an Italian baroque composer and violinist.-Biography:Tartini was born in Piran, a town on the peninsula of Istria, in the Republic of Venice to Gianantonio – native of Florence – and Caterina Zangrando, a descendant of one of the oldest aristocratic Piranian families.It... performed by Vanessa Mae |
||
| 1998–1999 | Seisouso Pagliacci |
||
| 1997–1998 | Revolutions by Jean Michel Jarre Jean Michel Jarre Jean Michel André Jarre is a French composer, performer and music producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and New Age genres, and known as an organiser of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks.Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and... |
Rhapsody in Blue Rhapsody in Blue Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects.... by George Gershwin George Gershwin George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known... |
Mortal Combat Liebestraum Liebesträume Liebesträume , is a set of three solo piano works by Franz Liszt, published in 1850. Liszt called each of the three pieces Liebesträume, but often they are referred to incorrectly in the singular as Liebestraum... by Franz Liszt Franz Liszt Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age... |
| 1996–1997 | Faust | Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet (Tchaikovsky) Romeo and Juliet is an orchestral work composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It is styled an Overture-Fantasy, and is based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. Like other composers such as Berlioz and Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky was deeply inspired by Shakespeare and wrote works based on The... by Pyotr Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"... |
|
| 1995–1996 | The Addams Family The Addams Family The Addams Family is a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. As named by Charles Addams, the Addams Family characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing.... |
Aladdin | |
| 1994–1995 | Rigoletto Rigoletto Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851... by Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century... |
An American in Paris An American in Paris An American in Paris is a symphonic tone poem by the American composer George Gershwin, written in 1928. Inspired by the time Gershwin had spent in Paris, it evokes the sights and energy of the French capital in the 1920s. It is one of Gershwin's best-known compositions.Gershwin composed the piece... by George Gershwin George Gershwin George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known... |
(with Ekaterina Gordeeva
Ekaterina Gordeeva
Ekaterina "Katia" Alexandrovna Gordeeva is a Russian figure skater. Together with her late partner and husband Sergei Grinkov, she was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and four-time World Champion in pair skating...
)
| Season | Program |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | Casi Un Bolero by Rosana Si tu no estas aqui by Ricky Martin Ricky Martin Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide... |
Competitive highlights
| Event | 1992–93 | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating... |
1st | |||||
| World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion... |
9th | 2nd | 5th | |||
| European Championships European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion... |
1st | 3rd | 4th | |||
| World Junior Championships World Junior Figure Skating Championships The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion... |
3rd | 11th | 1st | |||
| Russian Championships Russian Figure Skating Championships The Russian Figure Skating Championships are a figure skating national championship held annually to determine the national champions of Russia. Skaters compete at the senior level in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.The first Russian national... |
2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | ||
| Champions Series Final | 4th | 4th | 1st | |||
| Skate America Skate America Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is organized by the United States Figure Skating Association. The location changes yearly... |
6th | |||||
| Skate Canada International Skate Canada International The Skate Canada International is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is the second competition of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: Ladies' singles, Men's... |
2nd | 2nd | ||||
| Trophée Eric Bompard Trophée Eric Bompard The Trophée Eric Bompard is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. The Trophée Eric Bompard was formerly known as the Trophée Lalique... |
1st | |||||
| NHK Trophy NHK Trophy The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.... |
2nd | 1st | ||||
| Finlandia Trophy Finlandia Trophy The Finlandia Trophy is an annual senior-level international figure skating competition, held in Finland. Skaters compete in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating and ice dancing, although not every discipline has been included in every year... |
2nd | |||||
| Nebelhorn Trophy Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain.... |
1st | |||||
| Karl Schäfer Memorial Karl Schäfer Memorial The Karl Schäfer Memorial is an annual elite senior-level figure skating competition held in Vienna, Austria. Skaters compete in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The competition is named for figure skater Karl Schäfer. The competition is usually held in... |
3rd |