LAKE PLACID – A day before her “From the Heart” figure skating show at Herb Brooks Arena, Ekaterina Gordeeva was joined by friends and fellow Olympic medalists Tuesday at the Olympic Center.

Some of the biggest names in the sport’s history such as Scott Hamilton and Kristi Yamaguchi joined Gordeeva on stage to answer questions from a crowd of the show’s VIP ticket holders.

Questions ranged from the evolution of the sport’s scoring system to Yamaguchi’s appearance on “Dancing With the Stars” to who each legendary skater thinks may win figure skating gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

But the main focus of Tuesday’s conversation and of Gordeeva’s show tonight is about how the tragic death of her husband and figure skating partner Sergei Grinkov on Nov. 20, 1995 in Lake Placid has resonated with fellow figure skaters and friends over the past two decades.

Speaking with eloquence, emotion and enlightenment, each of the legendary skaters shared how Grinkov’s sudden death at the age of 28 from a heart attack on the Olympic Center ice changed each of their lives. They also spoke of how it shook their collective life as a Stars on Ice figure skating family and why they agreed to return to Lake Placid when Gordeeva recently asked them to take part in “From the Heart.”

“It’s how we respond to tragedy that makes us live our lives how they are supposed to be lived,” Hamilton, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist, said of Gordeeva. “To see the strength it took for her to come back from that, to skate by herself all these years and do what she has done is an extraordinary inspiration for us to take. We can move on and pick up the pieces of our lives and make something new and spectacular.

“I can’t be in Lake Placid and not think of (Grinkov).”

Yamaguchi, a 1992 Olympic gold medalist, and Paul Wylie, who took silver in the 1992 games, shared Hamilton’s sentiment. Each spoke of how being back in Lake Placid always reminds them of Grinkov’s infectious smile and how the Stars on Ice figure skaters were a tight-knit family while touring.

Yamaguchi recalled peering through a curtain to watch Grinkov and Gordeeva’s performances. The Russian duo were Olympic champions in 1988 and 1994 and have been widely recognized as the greatest figure skating pair of all time.

“He’s been in our hearts,” Yamaguchi said of Grinkov. “Every Stars on Ice show after that he was with us, and to be here to celebrate the Stars on Ice family means a lot.”

“We were a family, and that was the most incredible, perspective-giving and life-changing day,” Wylie said.

Gordeeva, wearing a grey turtleneck sweatshirt, stared straight ahead and listened as Wylie, Hamilton and Yamaguchi shared their memories of Grinkov’s death 20 years ago and how it’s affected each of them since. Later, she said their heartfelt accounts struck a sentimental chord in her.

“They just brought me back to the memories. It’s just amazing the impact it had on them as well,” Gordeeva said. “It was my tragedy, but because really we were so close and spent so much time together, there was a big, like, life change for everyone.”

Gordeeva said she conceived the idea of Wednesday’s show a little less than a year ago, thinking the 20-year anniversary of Grinkov’s death would serve as a good opportunity to thank each of her figure skating friends, without the support of whom she says she may not have continued skating. She said she finally felt comfortable in holding the event in Lake Placid.

In the wake of Grinkov’s death, Gordeeva penned “My Sergei: A Love Story,” a biography in part detailing her personal and professional relationship with Grinkov. It was a book she said she originally didn’t want to write. She said she shed tears each time she met with author E.M. Swift, but the process of making the book was also therapeutic as well.

At the time of Grinkov’s death, his and Gordeeva’s daughter Daria was just three years old. Gordeeva said the loss of her father affected Daria more as a teenager. Now 24-years-old and pursuing a career in the fashion industry, Daria will be in Lake Placid tonight.

Joining Gordeeva on the ice, among others, will be Yamaguchi. It will only be Yamaguchi’s second ice skating appearance of 2015, and she said that simple fact speaks to how important taking part in this event was for her.

“We did everything we could to rally around (Gordeeva),” Yamaguchi said.

On Tuesday, minutes before Yamaguchi and Gordeeva took the ice for rehearsal, Grinkov’s old friend Wylie skated with grace. The final verse of Barbara Streisand’s “Here’s To Life” filled Herb Brooks Arena as he finished a spin at center ice.

“May all your storms be weathered and all that’s good get better,” the song concludes. “Here’s to life. Here’s to love, and here’s to you.”