Ben Agosto Biography

Benjamin Alexandro Agosto (born January 15, 1982) is a professional ice dancer from the United States. Agosto is a 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a four-time World medalist, the 2004–2006 Four Continents champion, and the 2004–2008 U.S. champion with Tanith Belbin. The International Skating Union has them rated 4th in the world as of April 2010. (ISU). They were selected to represent the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics and finished fourth in ice dancing at the 2010 United States Figure Skating Championships. Benjamin Agosto was born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 15, 1982, and raised in Northbrook, Illinois. In June 1998, he relocated to Detroit, Michigan to study with Igor Shpilband. His mother is Jewish, while his father is Puerto Rican. His mother's family has origins in Romania and Russia. Agosto went to the Chicago Waldorf School for elementary school and then Glenbrook North High School for two years before relocating to Groves High School in Michigan, where he graduated with honors in June 2000. Agosto was a member of a high school jazz band and aspires to be a blues musician one day. He's also a voice actor who's worked on video game characters. As a spokesman for the United States Census, he has been on television. Agosto is also a figure skating coach. Agosto spent the summer of 2008 training in Canton, Michigan, before moving to Aston, Pennsylvania to practice at the Ice Works Skating Complex. Agosto began skating when he was six years old, after getting a pair of ice skates as a birthday present. Susie Wynne was his coach early in his career. He originally joined up with Katie Hill, skating with her at the beginner and junior levels, as well as on an international level. They were able to skate out of the Midwestern Section. When that partnership ended in 1998, Agosto relocated to Michigan to train with Igor Shpilband, who introduced him to his next partner. In 1998, he teamed up with Tanith Belbin, and the team had early success at the junior level, earning the junior national championship as well as a bronze medal at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in 1999–2000, their first competitive season. They finished second at Nationals in their debut year as senior skaters, qualifying them for the senior Worlds squad. Following that, every year they were age-eligible, Belbin and Agosto were sent to both Worlds and Junior Worlds. With a second-place performance at the United States Figure Skating Championships, Belbin and Agosto qualified for the 2002 Winter Olympics, but they were unable to compete since Belbin was not an American citizen. Belbin and Agosto were instead sent to all other ISU Championships in which they were qualified, including the Four Continents, Junior Worlds, and Worlds. They won the 2002 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, adding to their collection of medals from that competition. Agosto graduated from juniors after the season. Belbin and Agosto won the US Championship four times starting in 2004. Belbin & Agosto won straight flawless sixes for presentation in their free dance at Nationals in 2005, the final year under the 6.0 system. Belbin & Agosto have 14 of the 30 6.0s given out in ice dance at US Nationals. Only Michelle Kwan's career 38 at nationals beats their 6.0 total. Belbin and Agosto put up their own figure skating benefit concert, Skate Aid for Tsunami Recovery, in February 2005, which earned more than $37,000 for Red Cross relief operations. Belbin and Agosto were previously unable to compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics because Belbin was not yet an American citizen, despite winning silver medals for the United States at the 2005 World Figure Skating Championships. Their silver medal, paired with the performance of the other American team, gave the US three slots in the ice dance Olympics for the first time since 1984. Belbin became a naturalized citizen of the United States when Congress enacted special legislation on December 28, 2005, which President Bush signed on New Year's Eve 2005, allowing her to participate for the United States in the 2006 Winter Olympics. On February 20, 2006, Belbin and Agosto won the Olympic silver medal in ice dance. They were the first American ice dance team to win an Olympic medal since 1976, the first-year ice dancing was contested at the Olympics. That's Entertainment, a free dance by Belbin & Agosto, kicked off the 2006–2007 season. They canceled the free dance after getting negative comments and came to Nationals with a new program set to Amelie's music. They won Nationals, the silver medal at Four Continents, and the bronze at Worlds with this free dance. Belbin and Agosto started the 2007–2008 season with first-place finishes at Skate America and Cup of China, qualifying them for the Grand Prix Final, where they finished second. After a fall by Belbin in the Compulsory Dance, they won their fifth national championship and finished fourth at the 2008 Worlds. From 2004 until COI's demise during the 2007 season, Belbin and Agosto were regular cast members of the Champions on Ice tour. They appeared as special guests on the 2008 Stars on Ice tour. Following the 2007–2008 season, Belbin and Agosto parted ways with Igor Shpilband, their long-time coach, and began working with Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponossov, a married coaching duo in Aston, Pennsylvania. Belbin and Agosto started the 2008–2009 season with silver medals at both the 2008 Skate America and the 2008 Cup of China. Due to Agosto's back ailment, they withdrew from the 2008-2009 ISU Grand Prix Final after the first dance. Due to Agosto's injury, they withdrew from the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships before the competition began. They were chosen to the World Figure Skating Championships squad in 2009. They won the original dance and finished second in the compulsory and free dances at the World Championships, earning them a silver medal overall. They did not win a medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics, coming fourth behind Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (Canada), Meryl Davis and Charlie White (USA), and Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin (Russia). Belbin and Agosto announced their retirement from eligible skating on June 10, 2010. Agosto aims to relocate to Seattle, Washington to be closer to friends and family, and aspires to pursue a career in sports medicine after traveling professionally.

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