Tanith Belbin

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Figure skating
Olympic medal record
Silver	2006 Turin	Ice dancing

**Tanith Belbin**
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
Four Continents Championships	196.98	2nd	2007
National Championships	202.88	1st	2007
Cup of Russia	186.33	1st	2006

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. With Agosto, Belbin is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, three time Four Continents Champion (2004-2006), and four time US National Champion (2004-2007).

1 Biography
2 Competitive highlights
3 References
4 External links
5 Navigation

[edit] Biography

Belbin in 2006.

Tanith Belbin competed as a pair skater and ice dancer in Canada before concentrating completely on ice dancing. She was introduced to ice dancing by Paul Wirtz and competed with Liam Dougherty as an ice dancer and Ben Barruco as a pair skater. 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.^[1] 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. In January 2007, Belbin and Agosto continued their streak, winning their fourth consecutive U.S. championship in Spokane.

Belbin and Agosto both train in Canton, Michigan.

[edit] 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	3rd
Four Continents			2nd	2nd	1st	1st	1st	2nd
U.S. Championships	1st J.	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	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