Tanit Belbin is a famous American and Canadian skater. Has dual citizenship, but represented the United States in the international arena. She performed on ice with Benjamin Agosto. The couple has repeatedly won national and world championships. Belbin and Agosto completed their careers in 2010. In this article, we will describe a brief biography of a talented skater.
Carier start
Tanit Belbin was born in Kingston (Canada) in 1984, but grew up in the city of Kirkland. Before moving to Pennsylvania Aston, the girl trained for many years in Canton (Michigan).
The mother of the future skater, Michelle, worked as a costume designer. Therefore, Tanit had no problems with selecting outfits. At the beginning of her career, the girl took part in pair skating and ice dancing. But then she decided to focus on the second discipline. Belbin's first coach was Paul Wirtz. Under his leadership, she participated in ice dancing with Liam Dougherty. The girl did not forget about pair skating. In this discipline, her partner was Ben Barukko.
International level
In 1998, Tanit Belbin moved from Canada to Detroit. Igor Shpilband (new coach) paired the skater with Benjamin Agosto. The first success of the athletes was a bronze medal at the Junior World Cup. And then the pair won silver at the US Championship. Thus, Benjamin and Tanit automatically qualified for the 2002 Winter Olympics. But Belbin could not go to her. The girl did not have American citizenship.
Turin
Then Tanit Belbin and Benjamin Agosto decided to concentrate on international and national competitions. As a result, athletes won silver at the world championship and won the US Championship four times. Concerned fans of the couple decided to participate in their fate. They signed a petition asking Belbin to become a US citizen ahead of schedule. Some people thought that speeding up this process was not very fair. Many prominent foreign athletes of that time were refused early citizenship. But Tanit is very lucky! Thus, the girl received the right to participate in the 2006 Olympics. Belbin fully justified the trust placed in her. Together with Agosto, the athlete won silver in Turin. This victory for the skaters was an achievement for the United States. First, American dancers have not yet shown such a result. And secondly, the US representatives received the last Olympic award in this discipline back in 1976.
Change mentor
Soon, Agosto and Belbin won the fifth title at the national championship. And then we went to the world championship. There, the couple fell into fourth place due to the fall of Tanit Belbin in the compulsory dance program. In 2008, the skaters decided to leave Igor Shpilband, who trained them for almost ten years in a row. The new mentors of Benjamin and Tanit were Gennady Karponosov and Natalia Linichuk.
2008–2009
At the very beginning of the season, Belbin and Agosto won two silver medals at the Grand Prix stage “Cap of China” and “Skate America”. In the original dance, Benjamin injured his back, and the final had to be abandoned. For the same reason, the couple missed the country's competitions. However, Agosto managed to recover by the World Cup. Benjamin and Tanit then received silver. Just one point ahead of Russian figure skaters Domnina and Shabalin.
2009–2010
The couple began the season with victories at the stages of the Grand Prix. But then Tanit had health problems, and the athletes refused to participate in the finals. 2010 National Championship Agosto and Belbin lost to younger Charlie White and Meryl Davis. Next, the couple took part in the Vancouver Olympics, where they could only take 4th place. Then, instead of going to the World Cup, Benjamin and Tanit went on a tour with the Smackers Stars show. After graduation, the couple announced their retirement.
Personal life
In 2015, a significant event took place - skater Charlie White and Tanit Belbin got married. Before the wedding, the heroine of this article met with a young man for six years.