Tatiana Grigorieva disadvantaged on 'Dancing'

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/ta ... 23142.html

Tatiana disadvantaged on 'Dancing'

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March 28, 2007 - 10:25AM

Pole valuting easier than dancing... Tatiana Grigorieva bites the gold medal she won in the women's pole vault during the medal ceremony at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
Photo: AP Photo/Dave Caulkin
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Retired Olympic pole vaulter Tatiana Grigorieva says she was on the back foot from the start of Dancing With The Stars.

Grigorieva became the fifth celebrity to depart from the show last night, leaving five couples to compete for the title.

Whether it be singer Kate Ceberano, Home and Away actor Tim Campbell, Sydney radio host Fifi Box, TV star Jamie Durie or gay icon David Graham, all of the contestants remaining in the show had a ready-made following before signing up for the program.

Grigorieva, the Russian-born athlete who has successfully moonlighted as a model, said she didn't have such an advantage.

"But I knew that from the start," she said.

"It's hard to compete with Kate who played a concert in front of 30,000 people last week, and I have no radio or TV show to promote myself through, so that was a disadvantage."

The former Olympic pole vault hero compared performing on the show to her days as a professional athlete, which she officially ended before the show began.

"It's just as hard and every Tuesday is like the world championships," she said.

Now Grigorieva will return to her home on the Gold Coast where she is setting up a new business.

"I'm also recently engaged so it will be good to spend time with my fiance who I've hardly seen for two months," she said.

AAP