Grigorieva Aims High Again

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/Vau ... click=true

Vaulter aims high again
By Len Johnson
May 11, 2005

At the height of her powers, Tatiana Grigorieva won silver in the pole vault at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Photo: Gary Hershorn

Tatiana Grigorieva hopes to take another step towards regaining her standing as a world-class polevaulter when she competes in an IAAF Grand Prix meeting in Doha on Friday.

It will not be the first time Grigorieva has competed in the Gulf state. When the Sydney Olympics silver medallist competed in Doha a few years ago, the story was how female competitors had to cover up at the behest of the strict Muslim dress codes, donning baggy T-shirts and knee-length shorts rather than the two-piece outfits worn everywhere else.

On Friday, Grigorieva can wear what she pleases - Qatar has gradually liberalised its views, at least in the restricted area of world sporting events - but it will be her vaulting credibility that is on the line. In the past two years it has been in decline, as both her sporting and personal worlds have been in turmoil.

The personal was always a major part of Grigorieva the vaulter. She was a 400-metre hurdler when she came to Australia eight years ago, following her then-fiancee Viktor Chistiakov. She started vaulting as she watched Chistiakov and fellow immigrant Dmitri Markov train and always shared coaches and training facilities with Chistiakov.

That all changed when the relationship between the two unravelled. Grigorieva had to re-build not only her personal life but also her sporting one. She now lives on the Gold Coast and is coached by former Russian vaulter Sergey Miroshnichenko, whose daughter Katrina won the pole vault at this year's national titles and son Alex is also a national-class vaulter. "I've changed my whole approach to training," Grigorieva said yesterday. "I'm enjoying it more."

After two years when she scarcely got a height competitively, Grigorieva cleared a world championships B-standard of 4.30 early in 2005. Unfortunately, she then broke her little finger in a training mishap a few days later and missed the remainder of the domestic season. Her immediate aim for Doha is to get 4.30 again, as two B-standards is the minimum criteria for selection for the world championships in Helsinki.

"I haven't had any competition," Grigorieva said, "but I think from all the training and testing that I'm in similar shape to when I cleared 4.30.

"I want to qualify for the world championships. To get there I need a second B-standard or the A-standard (4.45)".

[lonestar]

She's still the hottest elite vaulter despite what she jumps

[jomrus]

She's still the hottest elite vaulter despite what she jumps

Ha, i like that comment. I also agree. But I don't know... that Feofanova has got to be number two...

[CHC04Vault]

didnt she pose for playboy or something??? But yes yes, totally agreed.

[achtungpv]

WHo knew she still jumped?

[rainbowgirl28]

WHo knew she still jumped?

Aww c'mon... I post articles about her on a regular basis

[achtungpv]

Here's a philosophical question: Would she get just as much media attention if she wasn't hot? Keep all her stats and achievements the same but trailer park ugly. Would we care?

[CHC04Vault]

In other words, who would know who Anna Kornikova was if she wasn't so hot, i think not.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/co ... 24,00.html

Raiding Europe's fashion vault

02jun05
TATIANA Grigorieva may not have been in the limelight for some time, but that doesn't mean she has been relaxing.

The Olympic pole vaulting star has been competing in domestic competitions and while in Adelaide for a few days, she's managing to stay busy.

Yesterday she was at the opening of United Way, a new retail store at Christies Beach. The store will help provide funding for her Gift for Dreams Foundation and the Fit2play program which encourages kids to get into sport.

The store also stocks Ladybird Design, a jewellery range developed be Adelaide girl and long-time friend Nikki Carter.

And Tatiana has set her





sights on the world of

denim fashion.

With some competitions in Europe later in the year, she says she will also use the trip for fashion research.

"It'll be in Italy, so that's the best place to learn the new trends and new colours," she says.

"Because I'm not training so much, I have time to go to the shops and see what people are wearing.

"Then I can come back to Australia and digest everything and come up with something special."

Tatiana was up to the task yesterday in designer denim and clutching a Chanel handbag.

But sorry guys, although she's parted ways with husband Victor Chistiakov, the attractive blonde says she's enjoying the single life. "I'm enjoying life with a lot more time to be able to concentrate on my own world," she says.

[altius]

Achtungpv -I realise that in countries -like the USA for example -you can become blase about World Championship and Olympic medals but in small insignificant countries like Australia we have to value any we get. That is why few here forget that Tatiana won a Bronze at the 1999 Worlds two years after touching a pole for the first time and a silver in 2000.

We realise that the event has moved on since then but one should never forget past successes by any athlete - they never come easy. So whether she was a poster girl or not her performances would be worth remembering.

Also may i say that but for a few mistakes along the way -and we all make those - Tatiana could have been the first female over 5.00m Petrov certainly thought so.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/c ... 18,00.html

Grigorieva jumps an A-qualifier
From correspondents in Formia, Italy
17jul05
SYDNEY Olympic pole vault silver medallist Tatiana Grigorieva has put herself back into contention for the world championships landing an A-qualifier in Formia yesterday.

Grigorieva cleared the qualifying mark of 4.40m then narrowly missed two attempts at the 4.5m height. "I felt very good and was disappointed that I did not clear 4.50," said Grigorieva who has been training in Formia with Vitaly Petrov, former coach of the great Sergei Bubka.

"I feel that I have the fitness and now the technique in place to jump much higher in the next few weeks."

Grigorieva's jump puts her back into the top 20 in the world and just behind Canadian Danna Ellis (4.5m) as the leading Commonwealth jumper.

The former Russian will now contest major grand prix meets in London (July 22) and Stockholm (July 26) where she will face world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva and hope to be added to the Australian world championships team

[roger/over]

"SYDNEY Olympic pole vault silver medallist Tatiana Grigorieva has put herself back into contention for the world championships landing an A-qualifier in Formia yesterday.

"Grigorieva cleared the qualifying mark of 4.40m then narrowly missed two attempts at the 4.5m height. "
---


I don't have any quibble with Grigorieva's record of contributions to our sport, but I do have with a bit or two of information on this thread:

The first is the easy one. The "A" qualifier for the world championships next month in Helsinki is 4.45m, not 4.40m. I'm not sure why she would have been trying for 4.50 instead of the qualifier. Maybe the Australian Federation, like many others of impoverished nations (including Canada) had set higher standards for Helsinki team qualification.

I often see references to her "not touching a pole" until 1997. I have no way of disputing this assertion, but it goes against much of what I think I know of how long it takes to transfer good, even superior, general athletic skills to this event.

(I think she was a good, but not superior, 400m hurdler in 1996. She finished third in the RUS national championships and ranked #151 on the world list.)

My files show Grigorieva in 1997, by then a resident of Australian but still a Russian citizen, improving Yelena Belyakova's RUS national record of 4.22 with two 4.30 results. Belyakova took the record back a few months later.

My only point in this is that I don't know of any athlete, anywhere, accomplishing a height of 4.22m (13'10") in a first year of training for this very complicated event. I don't believe that happened with Grigorieva. Could we please have an end to the stuff about "a year after first touching a vaulting pole" until there's some confirmation of that?

On the other hand, if there's a member of this forum who can verify that she/he vaulted 14' in his/her first year of training for the event, maybe you'll find me quieted, if not convinced, on this point.

Cheers,
Roger