Tanith Belbin White facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tanith Belbin White
Belbin in a press conference
Personal information
Full name	Tanith Jessica Louise Belbin
Country represented	United States
Born	(1984-07-11) July 11, 1984 (age 41) Kingston, Ontario
Residence	Michigan
Height	1.67 m
Partner	Benjamin Agosto
Former partner	Liam Dougherty (CAN) Ben Barruco (CAN – pairs) Andrew Hinton (CAN)
Former coach	Natalia Linichuk Gennadi Karponosov Igor Shpilband Marina Zueva Elizabeth Coates
Former choreographer	Natalia Linichuk Igor Shpilband J. T. Hornstein
Skating club	IceWorks
Training locations	Aston, Pennsylvania Canton, Michigan
Began skating	1986
Retired	June 13, 2010
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	221.26 2005 Worlds
Comp. dance	44.00 2005 Four Continents
Original dance	67.54 2005 Worlds
Free dance	111.54 2005 Worlds

Tanith Belbin White, born on July 11, 1984, is a famous ice dancer. She was born in Canada but also became a citizen of the United States. She is also an Olympic program host for NBC Sports.

Tanith started skating with Benjamin Agosto in 1998. Together, they won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics. They also earned four medals at the World Championships. Belbin and Agosto were three-time Four Continents champions (2004–2006). They also won the U.S. national title five times (2004–2008).

Tanith's Early Life and Family

Tanith Belbin was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She grew up in Kirkland, Quebec. In 1998, she moved to the Detroit area in the United States. She received a special visa in 2000 to work there.

Tanith lived and trained in Canton, Michigan, for many years. Later, she moved to Aston, Pennsylvania. After retiring from competitive skating in 2010, she moved back to Michigan. She attended Eastern Michigan University. She also wanted to be closer to her friends and family.

Tanith married fellow figure skater Charlie White on April 25, 2015. Their son was born in 2017. Tanith's mother, Michelle Belbin, was also a figure skater and coach. She even made some of Tanith's skating costumes.

Tanith's Skating Journey

Tanith Belbin started skating when she was almost three years old. She began ice dancing around age eight or nine. In Canada, she competed in both pair skating and ice dancing. Eventually, she decided to focus only on ice dancing.

Partnering with Benjamin Agosto

In 1998, Tanith moved to Detroit. There, her coach Igor Shpilband paired her with Benjamin Agosto.

Junior Success

In the 1999–2000 season, Tanith and Ben won medals in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. They finished fourth at the JGP Final. They then won the U.S. junior national title. After that, they earned a bronze medal at the 2000 World Junior Championships.

The next season (2000–2001), they won gold in all three of their Junior Grand Prix events. This included the Final. They also competed at the senior level for the first time. They won a silver medal at the 2001 U.S. Championships. This allowed them to compete at their first senior World Championships, where they placed 17th.

Senior Level and Olympic Dreams

In 2001–2002, Belbin and Agosto started competing in the senior Grand Prix series. They won another silver medal at the U.S. Championships. If Tanith had been a U.S. citizen, they could have gone to the 2002 Winter Olympics. Instead, they competed in other major events. They won the 2002 World Junior Championships. After this season, Ben was too old to compete as a junior.

Belbin and Agosto won their first U.S. national title in 2004. They continued to win this title for four more years. At the 2005 Nationals, they received perfect scores for their free dance.

In 2005, Belbin and Agosto won a silver medal at the World Championships. This helped the U.S. earn an extra spot for ice dancing at the Olympics.

Becoming an American Citizen

Many people wanted Tanith to become a U.S. citizen in time for the 2006 Winter Olympics. They believed she and Ben could win a medal. A special law was passed by Congress. President George W. Bush signed it on December 31, 2005. This allowed Tanith to become a U.S. citizen.

In January 2006, Belbin and Agosto won their third national title. This qualified them for the Olympics. At the Turin Olympics, they won the silver medal in ice dancing. This was the first Olympic medal for American ice dancers in 30 years. They then won a bronze medal at the World Championships.

Later Career and Retirement

Belbin and Agosto continued to win medals. They won gold at the U.S. Nationals in 2007 and 2008. They also won silver and bronze medals at World Championships. In April 2008, they changed coaches. They started working with Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov.

In 2009, Ben Agosto had a back injury. This caused them to withdraw from some competitions. However, they still won a silver medal at the 2009 World Championships.

In the 2009–10 season, they won two Grand Prix events. At the 2010 U.S. Championships, they placed second. They represented the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics. They finished fourth in the ice dancing event.

On June 10, 2010, Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto announced their retirement from competitive skating. They continued to perform together in ice shows. In 2016, they were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

Life After Competing

After retiring, Tanith Belbin became a commentator for ice dance competitions. She worked for Universal Sports Network and ABC's Skating with the Stars. She also worked as a commentator for "Curling Night in America."

In 2011, Tanith competed on a show called Battle of the Blades. She was paired with a hockey player, Boyd Devereaux, and they placed third. Tanith also works as a choreographer, creating skating routines for others.

Coaching Career

In 2022, Tanith Belbin opened the Michigan Ice Dance Academy. She started it with Charlie White and Greg Zuerlein. They coach many talented ice dance teams.

Competitive Highlights

Belbin and Agosto (left) on the podium at the 2009 World Championships

(ice dancing with Agosto)