Ilia Alexandrovich Kulik (; born 23 May 1977) is a Russian

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

. He is the 1998 Olympic Champion, the 1995 European Champion, the 1997–1998 Grand Prix Final champion, and the 1995 World Junior champion.

Career

Kulik began skating at the age of five. In November 1994, he won the 1995 World Junior 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 A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. The next season, he won silver at the 1996 World Championships. During the 1997-98 season, Kulik won gold at the

1997 NHK Trophy The 1997 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 1997–98 ISU Champions Series, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held in Nagano on November 27–30. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's single ...

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 The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

, Kulik placed first in both the short and long programs and won the Olympic title at the age of 20 years and 267 days, became one of the youngest male figure skating Olympic champions. 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 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 Yuna. ''Ice All Stars 2009'' was held in the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea from Augus ...

, the 2010 Festa On Ice. In 1999, he skated a duet with his wife,

Ekaterina Gordeeva Ekaterina "Katia" Alexandrovna Gordeeva (russian: Екатерина Александровна Гордеева; born 28 May 1971) is a Russian figure skater. Together with her husband, the late Sergei Grinkov, she was the 1988 and 1994 Olymp ...

. Kulik also ventured briefly into acting, playing the role of Sergei, a Russian dancer, in the 2000 ballet-themed movie '' Center Stage''. In 2012, Kulik and Gordeeva opened a skating rink in

Lake Forest, California Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 85,858 at the 2020 census. Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to incorporation, the community had been known as El Toro. Following a vote in 20 ...

. Kulik was the former coach of

Michael Christian Martinez Michael Christian "Mikee" Martinez (born November 4, 1996) is a Filipino Olympic figure skater. He is the 2015 Asian Figure Skating Trophy champion, a two-time Triglav Trophy champion and has won one ISU Challenger Series medal, silver at the 201 ...

Personal life

Kulik has one sibling, sister Svetlana, who also lives in California. His parents live in Russia. Kulik married

in San Francisco on 10 June 2002. They have one daughter, Elizaveta Ilinichna Kulik (born 15 June 2001). Gordeeva has another daughter, Daria Sergeevna Grinkova (born 11 September 1992), from her first marriage to her late husband and skating partner,

Sergei Grinkov Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov (russian: Сергей Михайлович Гриньков; 4 February 1967 – 20 November 1995) was a Russian pair skater. Together with his wife Ekaterina Gordeeva, he was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and ...

. The family lived in California for several years before moving to

Avon, Connecticut Avon ( ) is a town in the Farmington Valley region of Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 18,932. History Avon was settled in 1645 and was originally a part of neighboring Farmington, ...

, in 2003. They returned to the Los Angeles area in the summer of 2007 and resided in

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

. According to ''People'' magazine's 2018 Special Edition "The Best of Olympic Figure Skating", Gordeeva and Kulik divorced in 2016.

Programs

Post–1998

(with

)

Pre–1998

Competitive highlights

References

External links

*
Official Fan Club

Navigation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulik, Ilia Russian male single skaters Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Russia Olympic gold medalists for Russia 1977 births Living people Figure skaters from Moscow Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics 20th-century Russian people 21st-century Russian people