Sergei Grinkov punched his coach after witnessing him slap a girl.
Sergei Grinkov defended his fellow skaters from Stanislav Zhuk, who, according to later accounts, struggled with alcoholism. In her memoir, Ekaterina Gordeeva recounts numerous incidents in which Zhuk abused and harassed his students. Zhuk, a former Soviet military officer with significant influence, reportedly became increasingly abusive after falling into heavy drinking.
Under the system of the Soviet Union, elite sports were entirely state-funded, meaning that young athletes had little to no voice in decisions made by clubs or coaches.
Gordeeva describes how Zhuk allegedly sexually harassed female skaters, physically assaulted them, and humiliated male students whenever they made mistakes or showed vulnerability.
Gordeeva notes that she herself never experienced direct conflict with Zhuk, which she attributes to her obsessive dedication to skating and her strict obedience to his demands. Sergei, however, had several confrontations with him.
Unlike many others, Sergei spoke back and refused to be intimidated, something Gordeeva links to the fact that his parents were police officers in the USSR, which gave him a stronger sense of security and resistance to authority.
During a summer training session, Gordeeva witnessed Zhuk slapped one of the girls. That moment proved to be Sergei’s breaking point: after having protected Katia for a long time, seeing another young skater being beaten in front of him pushed him to punch Zhuk and physically confront him. Shortly afterward, Gordeeva and Grinkov made the decision to stop training under Zhuk altogether.
Stanislav Zhuk did not file any complaint, somewhat embarrassed after being struck by Sergei Grinkov.
They started training with a very young Leonovich.