Valeriia Grinberg Found a New Way Forward in Sports
After a back injury disrupted her life, the former rhythmic gymnast returned to movement and then discovered a new sport. She earned silver in the senior women’s amateur division at the POSA Pole Sport World Championship and found purpose in helping other athletes.
Written by Linda Herron
Women Sports USA®
💜 WOMEN SPORTS USA®
📍 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
50 STATES | 50 STORIES™
Before Valeriia Grinberg won a silver medal at a world championship, she celebrated something far less visible: walking without pain. No one was on the podium for that moment. After an injury, even lying down was painful; moving through her day more comfortably gave her hope.
When we spoke, I understood why she remembered that improvement. As a former athlete who has experienced years of nerve pain, I know how much an ordinary activity can mean when you have struggled to do it. You begin to measure progress differently—not by distance or pace, but by being able to participate again.
For Grinberg, now based in Los Angeles, those first steps eventually led back to a dream she had left unfinished as a young gymnast: competing at a world championship. She would get there through a different sport, with a new understanding of what her body needed. Along the way, she would find purpose in helping others return to movement on their own terms.
What Gymnastics Gave Valeriia Grinberg—and What Came Next
Grinberg grew up in Russia and trained in rhythmic gymnastics from age six to 17, competing on a regional team. Daily training gave her childhood structure. She developed flexibility, discipline, and body awareness that she still draws on.
One lesson stayed with her: focus on the session in front of you. An entire season could feel overwhelming, but one training session was something she could work through, even when motivation was harder to find. She also remembers a coach whose influence reached beyond performance. “She taught us to be a human being,” Grinberg said, recalling the care she valued alongside athletic instruction.
Looking back on her rehabilitation work, she sees gaps, too. She remembers training with considerable attention, but less guidance on recovery or preparing her body for its demands. But before those questions became personal, she faced another adjustment: life without daily gymnastics.
At 17, she chose to end her competitive gymnastics career—not because of an injury, she clarified during our conversation. Suddenly, she had time she did not know how to fill. Exercise became occasional rather than the daily routine she knew; after gymnastics, she ran and did university aerobics. One ambition remained unfinished: she had never reached a world championship as a gymnast.
When Pain Changed Her Life Beyond Sport
The back injury came later, as she moved to attend university. Grinberg recalls lifting boxes and feeling sharp lower-back pain. She says she was diagnosed with disc bulges and herniations, and the pain interfered with walking and resting. In her account, treatments did not bring the relief she hoped for, and doctors advised her to stop exercising.
For someone whose life had revolved around sport since childhood, that advice was frightening. “I felt like my body had let me down,” she told me. Her concern reached beyond the activities she could no longer do. Who would she be without something that had been part of her for so long?
That question stayed with me. Athletes spend years learning what their bodies can do. When those abilities change, so can our confidence and the future we imagine. For Grinberg, her university studies offered a place to begin finding a way forward.
Finding Hope in Everyday Movement
Grinberg began studying physical education and rehabilitation at university and started applying what she learned to her own recovery. She described gradual strengthening work for her trunk, legs, and glutes, along with attention to her breathing.
The earliest changes appeared in daily life. Walking became more comfortable. As she tried more movement, she felt more confident. She recalls her recovery taking several months and says she has remained free of back pain since then. Her experience is her own; it does not establish a timetable or treatment approach for someone else.
What interested me was how recovery changed her approach to training. She already knew how to work hard. Now she paid closer attention to what happened between workouts and how she felt when she returned. She would carry both lessons into a sport she tried simply out of curiosity.
A New Sport Brought Her Dream Within Reach
Grinberg discovered pole sport at a studio near her home. She tried it out of curiosity and enjoyed it immediately. The combination of strength, flexibility, and control felt familiar, even as the sport introduced new challenges. She began working with a coach and learned she could compete internationally.
The possibility brought her unfinished world championship dream back into reach. Gymnastics had given her a foundation; recovery had changed how she would build on it.
She gave sleep, rest, and recovery deliberate attention. She believed she spent less time in the studio than some of her peers but wanted to arrive ready to learn and perform at each session. I appreciated that distinction. In my own athletic life, it had been easy to focus on the next run or workout. I wish I had given as much thought to the recovery around it.
Grinberg says she advanced through regional and national competitions to qualify for the world championship. But qualifying did not mean she knew she could get there. In 2021, pandemic travel restrictions and difficulty obtaining a visa left her preparing without knowing whether she would make it to Italy.
A Silver Medal and a Dream Fulfilled
On December 5, 2021, Grinberg finished second in the senior women’s amateur division at the POSA Pole Sport World Championship in Bologna, Italy. The federation’s official results confirm her silver medal, earned while representing Russia.
At 25, she approached the experience differently than she had approached competitions as a child. She wanted to appreciate the opportunity and enjoy her routine. Afterward, sitting where athletes awaited their scores, she struggled to take it in: she had finally reached a world championship.
The silver medal gave her confidence in her preparation. It also changed how she saw the dream she had left unfinished in gymnastics. She had reached it through a sport she had not known when she first imagined competing on that stage. Now, her experience gives her something to draw on when others face uncertainty about their own goals.
Helping Others Believe in Their Next Step
Today, Grinberg works primarily online with clients worldwide, including competitive athletes and people who want to move more comfortably in everyday life. She holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education, has earned numerous rehabilitation-related certificates, and continues her education through courses and conferences. She also values collaborating with coaches to share information about an athlete’s training and recovery.
When an injured athlete comes to her feeling frightened, she remembers how hard it was to imagine returning to sport while in pain. She listens and shares her story when it may help them feel less alone. The goal is to help them see a next step they can work toward.
She spoke with particular enthusiasm about athletes she says she supports as they work toward Olympic ambitions. Having once hoped to become an Olympian herself, she finds meaning in helping others pursue that goal. Their determination energizes her, and she described leaving sessions encouraged by the very people she had come to support.
But a goal does not have to involve a podium to matter. Enjoying an activity, taking part in family life, or feeling more capable throughout the day can carry enormous meaning. Grinberg remembers when walking without pain was the achievement that mattered most to her.
Before our interview, she told me she had not considered her story particularly special for a long time. Athletes who found encouragement in it changed her mind. That is why I believe these conversations matter. Sharing what we have lived through can give someone else language for an experience they have struggled to explain.
I admire what Grinberg accomplished on the world stage. But as an athlete who knows how pain can change an ordinary day, I keep coming back to when walking became comfortable again. She did not yet know where those steps would lead—only that she could do something that had been difficult. I know how much hope that can bring. You may not know what comes next, but you begin to believe something is still possible.
Dream. Believe. Achieve.
Keep the inspiration going.
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Linda Herron is the Founder and CEO of Women Sports USA®. She is a former Division I field hockey athlete and coach, an author, and a business finance executive with over 40 years of experience.
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