Tanith Belbin
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| Personal Info | ||
| Country: |  United States |
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| Date of birth: | July 11, 1984 | |
| Residence: | Northville, Michigan | |
| Height: | 162 cm (5 ft 4 in) | |
| Partner: | Benjamin Agosto | |
| Former Partner: | Liam Dougherty (CAN), Ben Barruco (CAN - pairs), Andrew Hinton (CAN) |
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| Coach: | Natalia Linichuk Gennadi Karponossov |
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| Former Coach: | Igor Shpilband Marina Zoueva, Elizabeth Coates |
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| Former Choreographer: | Igor Shpilband, J. T. Hornstein | |
| Skating Club: | Arctic FSC | |
| ISU Personal Best Scores | ||
| Ice Dance Total: | 221.26 | 2005 Worlds |
| Comp. Dance: | 44.00 | 2005 4CC |
| Original Dance: | 67.54 | 2005 Worlds |
| Free Dance: | 111.54 | 2005 Worlds |
| Most Recent Results: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Points | Finish | Year |
| World Championships | 203.00 | 4th | 2008 |
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Competitor for the United States |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Figure skating | |||
| Silver | 2006 Turin | Ice dancing | |
Tanith Jessica Louise 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 1998. With Agosto, Belbin is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, three time Four Continents Champion (2004-2006), and five-time US National Champion (2004-2008).
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[edit] Personal life
Tanith Belbin was born in Kingston, Ontario and raised in Montreal, Quebec. She now lived and trained in Canton, Michigan for many years, but is currently training in Pennsylvania.
Belbin's mother is a costume designer and she makes some of Belbin's costumes.
[edit] Career
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 in Canada. She did not compete internationally with them.
Unable to find a good dance partner in Canada, Belbin moved to Detroit in 1998, where she was partnered with Benjamin Agosto by their coach Igor Shpilband. They had early success, winning the bronze at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships 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 four 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 the silver medal in ice dancing, the highest Olympic result of any American team 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, and again in January 2008, with their fifth title in St.Paul.
Following the 2007/2008 season, Belbin and Agosto switched coaches from Shpilband, who had coached them for their entire career, to Linichuk.
[edit] Programs
| Season | Original Dance | Free Dance | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-2008 | Appalachian Hoedown Bluegrass (Western Dance) |
Selection from Frederic Chopin arranged by Joseph Le Duca |
Let's Get Loud (Latin Original Dance)
SexyBack/My Love by Justin Timberlake |
| 2006-2007 | "Concierto Para Quinteto" by Astor Piazzolla Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla |
Overture from That's Entertainment
Amelie (soundtrack) by Yann Thiersen |
Let's Get Loud (Latin Original Dance) |
| 2005-2006 | Let's Get Loud (Latin combination): Salsa Rhumba Cha Cha: Let's get loud by Jennifer Lopez |
Bulenas Jaleo by Luis Winsberg Duende by Esteban |
Green Acres
American Woman, La Rosa Let's Get Loud (Latin Original Dance) |
| 2004-2005 | Charleston: Cabaret (musical) Slow Foxtrot: New York, New York Quickstep: Cabaret (musical) |
Shadritsa Edvin Marton's Russian Gypsy Dance |
Green Acres |
| 2003-2004 | Jitterbug: 5 months, 2 weeks, 2 days by Louis Prima Blues: Give me Some Money Too by Leni Hester Swing: Hey Pachuco by Royal Crown Revue |
West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein |
Elvis Presley Medley (Free Dance)
Green Acres |
| 2002-2003 | Waltz: La Traviata "Drinking Song" by G. Verdi Polka: Jolly Robbers by Franz von Suppe |
Heartbreak Hotel Hound Dog Jail House Rock & Teddy Bear by Elvis Presley |
Elvis Presley Medley (modified FD) |
| 2001-2002 | the Mask of Zorro, A Los Amigos | Sarajevo | Oscar Tango |
| 2000-2001 | More, Girls Girls Girls | Alexandros | Un Vie D'amour |
| 1999-2000 | Four Seasons | Un Vie D'amour |
[edit] Competitive highlights
(with Agosto)
| Event | 1999-2000 | 2000-2001 | 2001-2002 | 2002-2003 | 2003-2004 | 2004-2005 | 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games | 2nd | ||||||||
| World Championships | 17th | 13th | 7th | 5th | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | |
| Four Continents | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | |||
| World Junior Championships | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | ||||||
| U.S. Championships | 1st J. | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| Grand Prix Final | 3rd | 2nd | WD | 2nd | |||||
| Skate America | 5th | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |||
| Cup of China | 1st | 2nd | 1st | ||||||
| Trophee Lalique | 6th | 3rd | 4th | ||||||
| Cup of Russia | 2nd | 1st | |||||||
| Nebelhorn Trophy | 1st | ||||||||
| Goodwill Games | 5th | ||||||||
| Junior Grand Prix Final | 4th | 1st | |||||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Mexico | 1st | ||||||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Germany | 1st | ||||||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Canada | 1st | ||||||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Japan | 2nd |
- J = Junior level
(with Barrucco)
| Event | 1996-1997 |
|---|---|
| Canadian Championships | 2nd N. |
- N = Novice level
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official web site
- Tanith Belbin at the United States Figure Skating Association
- Tanith Belbin at the International Skating Union biography page
- Belbin's U.S. Olympic Team bio
- Tanith Belbin at the Internet Movie Database
- Care to Ice Dance? - Belbin & Agosto
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