Benjamin Agosto

Of the 30 6.0s given out in ice dance at U.S. Nationals, Belbin/Agosto have 14 of them.

Their total 6.0 count at the U.S. Championships is second only to Michelle Kwan (38).

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.

Benjamin Alexandro "Ben" Agosto (born January 15, 1982) is an American ice dancer.

Benjamin Agosto was born January 15, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Northbrook, Illinois.

He is the son of a Puerto Rican father and a Jewish mother whose family have roots in Romania and Russia.

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.

He skated with Katie Hill from 1995 to 1998, competing with her on the novice and junior levels, including internationally.

They skated out of Midwestern Section.

Agosto lived in Detroit, Michigan, from June 1998 and then Canton, Michigan, before moving to Aston, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 2008.

When that partnership ended, Agosto moved from Chicago to Michigan in 1998 in order to train under Igor Shpilband.

In 1998, Agosto's coach partnered him with Canadian Tanith Belbin.

In the 1999–2000 season, they won a pair of medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series and finished 4th at the JGP Final.

Agosto attended grade school at the Chicago Waldorf School, then spent two years at Glenbrook North High School, and graduated with honors from Michigan's Groves High School in June 2000.

He played in a high school jazz band.

They went on to win the U.S. junior national title and then took the bronze medal at the 2000 World Junior Championships.

In 2000–2001, Belbin/Agosto competed again on the JGP series, taking gold in all three of their events including the Final.

They appeared on the senior level at the 2001 U.S. Championships and won the silver medal, qualifying them for their first senior World Championships, where they finished 17th.

In 2001–2002, Belbin/Agosto made their senior Grand Prix debut and won another silver medal at the U.S. Championships, which would have qualified them for the 2002 Winter Olympics if Belbin had been an American citizen.

Instead, Belbin/Agosto were sent to all the other ISU Championships for which they were eligible: Four Continents, Junior Worlds, and Worlds.

They won the 2002 World Junior Championships, completing their set of medals from that event.

Following that season, Agosto aged out of juniors.

Belbin/Agosto won the 2004 U.S. national title and would go on to repeat four times.

Belbin/Agosto were regular cast members of the Champions on Ice tour from 2004 until COI went out of business following the 2007 season.

At Nationals in 2005, the last year of the 6.0 system, they received straight perfect sixes for presentation in their free dance.

In February 2005, Belbin/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.

Belbin/Agosto won the silver medal at the 2005 World Championships.

By a special act of Congress that passed on December 28, 2005, which President Bush signed on New Year's Eve, 2005, Belbin became a naturalized citizen of the US, making her able to compete for the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

With partner Tanith Belbin, Agosto is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a four-time World medalist, the 2004–2006 Four Continents champion, and 2004–2008 U.S. champion.

Belbin/Agosto went on to win the Olympic silver medal in ice dance on February 20, 2006.

Belbin/Agosto began the 2006–2007 season with a free dance called That's Entertainment but arrived at Nationals with a new program to the music of Amelie.

They won gold at Nationals, the silver medal at Four Continents, and the bronze at Worlds.

In 2007–2008, they won gold medals at both Skate America and Cup of China which qualified them for the Grand Prix Final, where they took the silver medal.

They won their 5th national title and then placed 4th at the 2008 Worlds after a fall by Belbin in the compulsory dance.

They were guest stars on part of the 2008 Stars on Ice tour.

In April 2008, Belbin/Agosto left Igor Shpilband and began working with the married coaching team of Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov at the Ice Works Skating Complex in Aston, Pennsylvania.

In addition to teaching different technique, Linichuk advised Belbin to gain 10 pounds and develop some muscles in order to skate faster and more fluidly.

He relocated to Lacey, Washington, in September 2010 and then to Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2014.

Agosto started skating at age six, after receiving a pair of ice skates for his birthday, and started ice dancing at about age 12.

Early in his career, he was coached by Susie Wynne.