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Free Encyclopedia.”
Tanith Belbin (born July 11, 1984 in
Kingston, Ontario) is a Canadian-American ice dancer. Though she holds
dual citizenship, she competes for the United States and has competed
for the U.S. since she began skating with Benjamin Agosto in 1999.
****
Personal Info
Country: United States
Residence: Northville, Michigan
Height: 5 ft. 6 in
Partner: Benjamin Agosto
Coach: Igor Shpilband
Marina Zoueva
Skating Club: Arctic FSC
ISU Personal Best Scores
Ice Dance Total: 221.26 2005 Worlds
Comp. Dance: 44.00 2005 Four CC
Original Dance: 67.54 2005 Worlds
Free Dance: 111.54 2005 Worlds
Most Recent Results:
Event Points Finish Year
Olympic Winter Games 196.06 2nd 2006
World Championships 196.74 3rd 2006
Four Continents 199.73 1st 2006
National Championships 215.29 1st 2006
****
Olympic medal record
Figure skating
Silver 2006 Turin Ice dancing
****
Biography
Tanith Belbin competed as a pair skater and
ice dancer in Canada before concentrating completely on ice dancing. Not
able to find a good partner in Canada, Belbin moved to Detroit, where
she was partnered with Benjamin Agosto. They had early success, winning
the bronze at World Juniors in their first competitive season. Belbin
and Agosto qualified for the 2002 Olympics by placing second at U.S.
championships, but were not able to go because Belbin was not an
American citizen. Because Belbin started the citizenship process before
new rules went into effect, her citizenship would not have been
completed before 2007. Belbin and Agosto, therefore, focused more on
Nationals and Worlds, winning Nationals three times, and earning the
silver at Worlds going into the Olympics.
Fans of Belbin and Agosto wrote letters and
signed petitions asking for a special act of Congress to let Belbin
become a citizen in time for her to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics,
where many believed they could medal. This was a controversial move. The
mother of fellow American ice dancer David Mitchell believed that it was
unfair to bend the rules for Belbin.[citation needed] Supporters pointed
out that the U.S. had three dance team spots at the Olympics only
because Belbin and Agosto had earned the third spot by medalling at the
2005 World Championships. Had they not, the U.S. would have had only two
spots. By this logic, Belbin and Agosto had earned their own spots. But
the point was moot after Mitchell and his partner Loren
Galler-Rabinowitz placed ninth at U.S. championships, nowhere near
earning a spot on the World team.
However, by a special act of Congress on
December 28, 2005, which President George W. Bush signed on December 31,
2005, Belbin became a naturalized citizen, making her able to compete
for the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics. In January 2006, the
pair won their third consecutive national title and qualified for the
Olympics. Maxim Zavozin, who is half of the 2005 Junior World Champion
team of Matthews and Zavozin, also became a U.S. citizen through this
special act.
At the Turin Olympics, Belbin and Agosto
won silver in ice dancing, the highest Olympic result of any American
pair in the discipline, and the first American ice dancers to win an
Olympic medal in 30 years. They went on to win the bronze at Worlds.
Belbin and Agosto both train in Canton,
Michigan.
Competitive highlights
(with Agosto)
Event 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002
2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007
Winter Olympic Games 2nd
World Championships 17th 13th 7th 5th 2nd
3rd
Four Continents 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st
U.S. Championships 1st J. 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st
1st 1st
Grand Prix Final 3rd 2nd WD
Skate America 5th 3rd 1st 1st 1st
Cup of China 1st 2nd
Trophee Lalique 6th 3rd 4th
Cup of Russia 2nd 1st
Nebelhorn Trophy 1st
Goodwill Games 5th
World Juniors 3rd 2nd 1st
Junior Grand Prix Final 4th 1st
JGP Mexico 1st
JGP Germany 1st
JGP Canada 1st
JGP Japan 2nd
J = Junior level
****
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URL of Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanith_Belbin
Date Article Copied:
January 2007
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