events

Dancers Take Their Turn on the Media Stage

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto Photo by George Rossano

2006 Olympic Winter Games Photos, News and Blogs

(2/11/06) - The six members of the U.S. Olympic ice dancing team met with the press Friday at the Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy. The team arrived in Italy on Thursday and spent the day going through U.S. Olympic Team Processing before settling into the Olympic Village.

Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto, the reigning World silver medalists, qualified for the 2002 Olympics but were ineligible because Belbin was not a U.S. citizen at the time. Skaters can compete in any international competition if one partner is a citizen of the country they represent, with the exception of the Olympics, at which both partners must be citizens. Belbin received her U.S. citizenship on Dec. 31, 2005, and she and Agosto qualified for the team less than a month later.

“I never imagined that at an Olympic Games that I'd actually feel that a weight (gaining U.S. citizenship) has been lifted off my shoulders,” she said. “But not having that Plan A-Plan B scenario in our picture any longer is really nice. It's a dream come true.”

Belbin and Agosto's silver at the 2005 Worlds was the best placement at the event by a U.S. ice dancing team in 30 years and the first medal in 20 years. Their success catapults them into their first Olympic Winter Games as medal favorites.

“I think they (medal chances) are great,” Agosto said. “We feel very confident with our programs and our performances this year. With the new judging system, I think we've seen a lot of flip-flopping of placements and it has been unpredictable. We want to put out some good performances.” Joining them in Torino are training partners Jamie Silverstein & Ryan O'Meara. The four skaters have the same coaches, Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva. Silverstein and O'Meara paired up just last summer when both returned to skating to give the sport a second chance. O'Meara was looking for a new partner after parting ways with former partner Lydia Manon. Silverstein had left after parting ways with her former partner, battling with and overcoming an eating disorder, and uprooting her home to attend Cornell University.

“A year ago, I was in school and doing some studying,” she said. “When you imagine something fantastic like this Olympic experience – it's fantastic! I knew I still really cared about skating. I was ready to admit that. It has been a journey. Ryan is a champion partner. I'm proud to be here, and I'm proud of myself. It's a personal victory.”

The third U.S. ice dancing team at the Olympics is the married couple of Melissa Gregory & Denis Petukhov. The duo met over the Internet when both were looking for a new partner. Petukhov flew from Russia for the try-out and never used his return ticket home. Their chemistry spread off the ice too, and they were married in February of 2001. Petukhov received his U.S. citizenship last year.

“Yesterday, we received our Olympic gear,” he said. “I was in search of my hat. It says ‘land of the free, home of the brave.' Wearing this means so much to me, because I'm living an American dream. I'm successful and doing what I love.”

The Olympic ice dancing competition begins with the compulsory dance on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m.