http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/tat ... 25558.html
Tatiana gets her medals back
August 1, 2006 - 4:02PM
Australian pole vaulter Tatiana Grigorieva is over the moon that her Olympic silver medal is among her stolen sporting mementoes so far recovered.
Grigorieva's sporting treasure trove was stored in a safe stolen from a close friend's business premises at Tingalpa, in Brisbane's east, on July 18.
Police said today they had found several of the items following the execution of a search warrant in the Wynnum area on Brisbane's bayside.
Grigorieva's Sydney Olympic silver medal and 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games gold medal were among the items recovered.
Police said other sentimental items including medals and an Australian flag bearing autographs of the entire Australian 2000 Sydney Olympic Games team were still to be recovered.
"I'm really pleased that they've been found, particularly the ones that are most important to me," the glamour athlete and model - now competing in Europe - said in a statement.
"Thanks to the police for all their efforts."
Former Hockeyroos captain Katrina Powell suffered the same fate as Grigorieva when her sporting mementoes, including two Olympic gold medals, were stolen in a break-in at her Perth home last week.
But Powell, now a Hockeyroos assistant coach, said today she had not recovered any of her belongings, which also included jewellery.
"I'm still holding out hope that they're not bad people and the items are returned," she said from Perth.
The Australian Olympic Committee had offered to replace Grigorieva's Sydney 2000 medal if it was not recovered.
AOC spokesman Mike Tancred said if Powell's medals were not found the AOC would work with the International Olympic Committee, which has replica moulds, to replace them.
"We're thrilled for Tatiana because the medals were precious to her and we'll keep our fingers crossed for Trinny [Powell]," Tancred said.
"We appeal to those who stole her medals to hand them back."
Police are still seeking to locate a man seen on previously released security vision of the Tingalpa break-in, whom they say might be able to assist them with their inquiries.
Among Grigorieva's items still to be recovered are a silver medal from the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and bronze medals from the 1999 Seville world championships and 1998 Goodwill Games in New York.
Tatiana Grigorieva's medals RETURNED!!
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rainbowgirl28
- I'm in Charge
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- Expertise: Former College Vaulter, I coach and officiate as life allows
- Lifetime Best: 11'6"
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- Contact:
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rainbowgirl28
- I'm in Charge
- Posts: 30435
- Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2002 1:59 pm
- Expertise: Former College Vaulter, I coach and officiate as life allows
- Lifetime Best: 11'6"
- Gender: Female
- World Record Holder?: Renaud Lavillenie
- Favorite Vaulter: Casey Carrigan
- Location: A Temperate Island
- Contact:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/tatian ... 13110.html
Tatiana: more medals found
August 10, 2006 - 3:26PM
Tatiana Grigorieva bites the gold medal she won in the women's pole vault during the medal ceremony at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002.
Photo: AP
Australian pole vaulter Tatiana Grigorieva has been buoyed by the recovery of more of her stolen sporting medals in Brisbane.
Grigorieva's sporting and personal treasure trove was stored in a safe stolen from a close friend's business premises at Tingalpa, in Brisbane's east, on July 18.
Ten days later Grigorieva's Sydney Olympic silver medal and 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games gold medal were among items recovered at Wynnum on Brisbane's bayside.
A police spokesman said today a 1999 Seville world championship bronze medal and some jewellery had also been located "as a result of public assistance".
The 30-year-old Russian born athlete and model is in Berlin and will next compete in Monte Carlo on August 20.
She said she was "surprised and delighted" that more of her items had been found and thanked police for their efforts.
Her manager Rick Carter said an Australian flag bearing autographs of the entire Australian 2000 Sydney Olympic Games team was yet to be recovered.
"Still the one thing she's very keen to get back is that flag from Sydney, which holds a very special place for her," he said.
Former Hockeyroos captain Katrina Powell suffered the same fate as Grigorieva when her sporting mementoes, including two Olympic gold medals, were stolen in a burglary at her Perth home last month.
But Powell, now a Hockeyroos assistant coach, said she had not recovered any of her belongings, which also included jewellery.
"I think the police are working hard on it but they just haven't got anything," she said today.
The Australian Olympic Committee has offered to replace Powell's medals but she is still hopeful they will be handed in.
Among Grigorieva's items still to be recovered are a silver medal from the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal from the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane.
Police are confident of catching the three people believed to be responsible for the break-in as parts of their faces were seen on security camera footage and a mobile phone was left at the scene.
Tatiana: more medals found
August 10, 2006 - 3:26PM
Tatiana Grigorieva bites the gold medal she won in the women's pole vault during the medal ceremony at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002.
Photo: AP
Australian pole vaulter Tatiana Grigorieva has been buoyed by the recovery of more of her stolen sporting medals in Brisbane.
Grigorieva's sporting and personal treasure trove was stored in a safe stolen from a close friend's business premises at Tingalpa, in Brisbane's east, on July 18.
Ten days later Grigorieva's Sydney Olympic silver medal and 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games gold medal were among items recovered at Wynnum on Brisbane's bayside.
A police spokesman said today a 1999 Seville world championship bronze medal and some jewellery had also been located "as a result of public assistance".
The 30-year-old Russian born athlete and model is in Berlin and will next compete in Monte Carlo on August 20.
She said she was "surprised and delighted" that more of her items had been found and thanked police for their efforts.
Her manager Rick Carter said an Australian flag bearing autographs of the entire Australian 2000 Sydney Olympic Games team was yet to be recovered.
"Still the one thing she's very keen to get back is that flag from Sydney, which holds a very special place for her," he said.
Former Hockeyroos captain Katrina Powell suffered the same fate as Grigorieva when her sporting mementoes, including two Olympic gold medals, were stolen in a burglary at her Perth home last month.
But Powell, now a Hockeyroos assistant coach, said she had not recovered any of her belongings, which also included jewellery.
"I think the police are working hard on it but they just haven't got anything," she said today.
The Australian Olympic Committee has offered to replace Powell's medals but she is still hopeful they will be handed in.
Among Grigorieva's items still to be recovered are a silver medal from the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal from the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane.
Police are confident of catching the three people believed to be responsible for the break-in as parts of their faces were seen on security camera footage and a mobile phone was left at the scene.
-
rainbowgirl28
- I'm in Charge
- Posts: 30435
- Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2002 1:59 pm
- Expertise: Former College Vaulter, I coach and officiate as life allows
- Lifetime Best: 11'6"
- Gender: Female
- World Record Holder?: Renaud Lavillenie
- Favorite Vaulter: Casey Carrigan
- Location: A Temperate Island
- Contact:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 22,00.html
Precious medals steel Grigorieva's spirit
Jenny McAsey
November 30, 2006
IF there is a sure sign Tatiana Grigorieva has emerged from the dark times -- as she calls them -- when she lost her marriage and almost her sporting career, then it will come today in Brisbane when police hand back her stolen medals.
The silver medal she won in the pole vault at the 2000 Olympics, a Commonwealth gold and silver, and a bronze medal from the 1999 world championships were taken from a safe during a robbery at a friend's business premises in Brisbane four months ago.
The man accused of the robbery appeared in court yesterday charged with more than 140 offences, and today Grigorieva will personally thank the police who recovered her precious mementoes.
"I am looking forward to getting a feel of the medals again," Grigorieva said. "They were stolen while I was away in Europe competing and it made it harder. It was very upsetting. It is important to have a memory of a certain moment in life and all of these medals represent my best competitions over 10 years. It is something you never, ever want to lose."
It will be a poignant occasion for the woman who seduced the nation at the Sydney Olympics on the same night Cathy Freeman won 400m gold.
Between that night of jubilation and now, Grigorieva lost almost everything that mattered to her.
While the Olympics brought celebrity and fortune, her private life slowly unravelled and by 2004 her marriage to fellow pole vaulter Viktor Chistiakov had ended. Blonde and statuesque, they had been sport's number one glamour couple. In her distress, her ability to clear the pole vault bar deserted her, too.
At her lowest point Grigorieva failed to make the Australian team for the 2004 Olympics, while the new stars of the event such as world record-holder Yelena Isinbayeva, of Russia, took the bar far beyond her reach.
But Russian-born Grigorieva is a survivor and she clung to the sport like a lifeline, saying pole vaulting helped to keep her "alive" after she broke up with Chistiakov, who returned to live in Europe.
Two months ago, her extraordinary perseverance paid off when, after five years, she exceeded her personal best of 4.56m she set in 2001.
It was only by a centimetre, and then one more, but to Grigorieva they were huge leaps as she cleared 4.57m in Yokohama, Japan, on September 24, and 4.58m four days later in Daegu, South Korea, at the last meet of the season.
It was the culmination of her most consistent European season and her world ranking improved from 20 to 10.
Grigorieva believes the results came from finding peace of mind off the track. "I felt totally different in the competitions this European season," she said. "I knew exactly what I was doing there.
"During these miserable years I have been changing and looking and searching for things, and this is the year that I was able to put it all together.
"My private life, my friends, my mental approach to the training and competition, all of this has changed. It is life and you can't have one emotion off the track and then switch it off and feel totally different on the track, you are still the same person and you live 24 hours a day with the same emotions."
She credits much of her new-found happiness to her move to the Gold Coast three years ago, when she left behind the life she had led with Chistiakov in Adelaide, "to start a new page". Without any family of her own in Australia, she has made close friends with two supportive families and is also enjoying a new romance.
But getting to this point has come only after a period of deep soul-searching where she questioned her commitment to the pole vault.
"At the beginning I did it because it was great fun, it was more entertainment and a hobby for me and it gave me the chance to travel with my husband of those years, Viktor, and that was the reason I was enjoying it. It was a good way of keeping the family together," she said.
"And then pole vaulting was something that kept me alive after the break-up with Viktor. It is hard to explain but I had a gut feeling that I had to hold on to pole vaulting and it was going to help me to get out of these dark times.
"And the last year or 18 months was the time when I started to realise that I am doing it because I really enjoy it. I realised it is love for the pole vaulting itself, and the realisation gave me a lot more strength. I am not doing it for the coach, I am not doing it for the partner, I am not doing it for anyone else except for me."
She returned to Australia last week and after a long season is taking a complete rest. While she won't talk directly about retirement, she is content.
"I satisfied my ego totally. I have had the best season, European season, ever," Grigorieva said. "I proved to myself that I can achieve a lot of things and more than that I don't need to rely on anyone else's help or knowledge. I can't even complain about my bad years because if it wouldn't be for them I wouldn't come to the day that I am living in now."
Precious medals steel Grigorieva's spirit
Jenny McAsey
November 30, 2006
IF there is a sure sign Tatiana Grigorieva has emerged from the dark times -- as she calls them -- when she lost her marriage and almost her sporting career, then it will come today in Brisbane when police hand back her stolen medals.
The silver medal she won in the pole vault at the 2000 Olympics, a Commonwealth gold and silver, and a bronze medal from the 1999 world championships were taken from a safe during a robbery at a friend's business premises in Brisbane four months ago.
The man accused of the robbery appeared in court yesterday charged with more than 140 offences, and today Grigorieva will personally thank the police who recovered her precious mementoes.
"I am looking forward to getting a feel of the medals again," Grigorieva said. "They were stolen while I was away in Europe competing and it made it harder. It was very upsetting. It is important to have a memory of a certain moment in life and all of these medals represent my best competitions over 10 years. It is something you never, ever want to lose."
It will be a poignant occasion for the woman who seduced the nation at the Sydney Olympics on the same night Cathy Freeman won 400m gold.
Between that night of jubilation and now, Grigorieva lost almost everything that mattered to her.
While the Olympics brought celebrity and fortune, her private life slowly unravelled and by 2004 her marriage to fellow pole vaulter Viktor Chistiakov had ended. Blonde and statuesque, they had been sport's number one glamour couple. In her distress, her ability to clear the pole vault bar deserted her, too.
At her lowest point Grigorieva failed to make the Australian team for the 2004 Olympics, while the new stars of the event such as world record-holder Yelena Isinbayeva, of Russia, took the bar far beyond her reach.
But Russian-born Grigorieva is a survivor and she clung to the sport like a lifeline, saying pole vaulting helped to keep her "alive" after she broke up with Chistiakov, who returned to live in Europe.
Two months ago, her extraordinary perseverance paid off when, after five years, she exceeded her personal best of 4.56m she set in 2001.
It was only by a centimetre, and then one more, but to Grigorieva they were huge leaps as she cleared 4.57m in Yokohama, Japan, on September 24, and 4.58m four days later in Daegu, South Korea, at the last meet of the season.
It was the culmination of her most consistent European season and her world ranking improved from 20 to 10.
Grigorieva believes the results came from finding peace of mind off the track. "I felt totally different in the competitions this European season," she said. "I knew exactly what I was doing there.
"During these miserable years I have been changing and looking and searching for things, and this is the year that I was able to put it all together.
"My private life, my friends, my mental approach to the training and competition, all of this has changed. It is life and you can't have one emotion off the track and then switch it off and feel totally different on the track, you are still the same person and you live 24 hours a day with the same emotions."
She credits much of her new-found happiness to her move to the Gold Coast three years ago, when she left behind the life she had led with Chistiakov in Adelaide, "to start a new page". Without any family of her own in Australia, she has made close friends with two supportive families and is also enjoying a new romance.
But getting to this point has come only after a period of deep soul-searching where she questioned her commitment to the pole vault.
"At the beginning I did it because it was great fun, it was more entertainment and a hobby for me and it gave me the chance to travel with my husband of those years, Viktor, and that was the reason I was enjoying it. It was a good way of keeping the family together," she said.
"And then pole vaulting was something that kept me alive after the break-up with Viktor. It is hard to explain but I had a gut feeling that I had to hold on to pole vaulting and it was going to help me to get out of these dark times.
"And the last year or 18 months was the time when I started to realise that I am doing it because I really enjoy it. I realised it is love for the pole vaulting itself, and the realisation gave me a lot more strength. I am not doing it for the coach, I am not doing it for the partner, I am not doing it for anyone else except for me."
She returned to Australia last week and after a long season is taking a complete rest. While she won't talk directly about retirement, she is content.
"I satisfied my ego totally. I have had the best season, European season, ever," Grigorieva said. "I proved to myself that I can achieve a lot of things and more than that I don't need to rely on anyone else's help or knowledge. I can't even complain about my bad years because if it wouldn't be for them I wouldn't come to the day that I am living in now."
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