Benjamin Agosto

Olympic medal record
Figure skating
	2006 Turin	Ice dancing

Benjamin Agosto
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Figure skating career
Country	United States
Partner	Tanith Belbin
Coach	Igor Shpilband, Marina Zoueva
Skating club	Arctic FSC

Most Recent Results:
Event	Points	Finish	Year
Grand Prix Final	164.14	2nd	2007

Benjamin Alexandro Agosto (born January 15, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American ice dancer. With partner Tanith Belbin, Agosto is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, 2004-2006 Four Continents Champion, and 2004-2008 US National Champion.

Personal life

Benjamin Agosto was born January 15, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Northbrook, Illinois. He moved to Detroit, Michigan in June 1998 in order to train under Igor Shpilband. Agosto is Jewish on his mother's side and Puerto Rican on his father's side. Agosto attended Glenbrook North High School for two years before moving to Michigan where he graduated with honors from Groves High School in June 2000. Agosto played in a high school jazz band and hopes to become a blues player someday. He is also a voice actor and has voiced characters in video games. Agosto also works as a skating coach.

Benjamin Agosto lives and trains in Canton, Michigan.

Career

Benjamin Agosto started skating at age six, after receiving a pair of ice skates for his birthday. Early in his career, he was coached by Susie Wynne. He teamed up first with Katie Hill, skating with her on the novice and junior levels, including internationally. They skated out of Midwestern Section. When that partnership ended, Agosto moved from Chicago to Michigan in 1998 to train under Igor Shpilband, who teamed him up with his new partner.

In 1998, he was partnered with Tanith Belbin and the team immediately saw results on the junior level in the 1999-2000 season, their first competitive season, winning the junior national title as well as the bronze medal at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships. In their first year skating senior nationally, they placed second at Nationals, qualifying them for the senior Worlds team. Following that, Belbin and Agosto were sent to both Worlds and Junior Worlds every year they were age-eligible.

Belbin and Agosto qualified for the 2002 Winter Olympics with a second place finish at the United States Figure Skating Championships, but were ineligible to compete there because the Canadian-born Belbin was not an American citizen. Instead, Belbin and Agosto were sent to all the other ISU Championships for which they were eligible: Four Continents, Junior Worlds, and Worlds. They won 2002 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, completing their set of medals from that event. Following that season, Agosto aged out of juniors.

In 2004, Belbin and Agosto won the U.S. Championship and have repeated three times. At Nationals in 2005, the last year of the 6.0 system, Belbin & Agosto earned straight perfect sixes for presentation in their free dance. Of the 30 6.0s given out in ice dance at US Nationals, Belbin & Agosto have 14 of them. Their 6.0 count is second only to Michelle Kwan's career 38 at nationals.

In February 2005, Belbin and Agosto organized and performed in their own figure skating benefit show, Skate Aid for Tsunami Relief, which raised more than $37,000 for Red Cross relief efforts.

Though they earned silver medals for the United States at the 2005 World Figure Skating Championships, Belbin and Agosto were originally ineligible to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics as Belbin was not yet an American citizen. Their silver medal combined with the placement of the other American team earned the United States three spots to the Olympics in ice dance, the first time this had happened since 1984.

By a special act of Congress passed on December 28, 2005, which President Bush signed on New Year's Eve, 2005, Belbin became a naturalized citizen of the USA, making her able to compete for the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Belbin and Agosto went on to win the Olympic silver medal in ice dance on February 20, 2006. They were the first American ice dance team since 1976, the first year ice dancing was contested at the Olympics, to win an Olympic medal.

Belbin & Agosto began the 2006-2007 season with a free dance called That's Entertainment. After receiving less-than-steller feedback on it, they scrapped the free dance and came to Nationals with a new program to the music of Amelie. With this free dance, they won Nationals, the silver medal at Four Continents, and the bronze at Worlds.

For the 2007-2008 season, Belbin and Agosto began with first place finishes at both Skate America and Cup of China which qualified them for the Grand Prix Finals.

Belbin and Agosto have been regular cast members of the Champions on Ice tour for the past three seasons.

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

Competitive highlights

(with Belbin)

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
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

(with Hill)

Event	1995-1996	1996-1997	1997-1998
U.S. Championships	8th N.	3rd N.	7th J.
Junior Grand Prix, Slovakia			10th
Junior Grand Prix, Bulgaria			7th
Midwestern Sectionals			2nd J.

• N = Novice level; J = Junior level

External links

• Official web site
• Ben Agosto at U.S. Figure Skating (archived)
• Ben Agosto at the International Skating Union
• Care to Ice Dance? - Belbin & Agosto
• Belbin-Agosto.net
• Ben Agosto's U.S. Olympic Team bio