Poised for glory: Belbin's all American now
ST. LOUIS -- We should have known they'd start out with the Yankee Polka.
After all of the hoopla surrounding Tanith Belbin's last-ditch effort to become an American citizen, it was only appropriate that the Canadian-born ice dancer and her partner, Ben Agosto, would have to open the figure skating nationals by performing such a dance.
"I don't see anyone taking the ice as cowboys and cowgirls," Belbin said with a chuckle.
Belbin didn't need to dress the part. She's all American now.
After a roller-coaster few months in which her attorneys navigated through the halls of Capitol Hill to expedite her citizenship process, Belbin finally was sworn in as a U.S. citizen Dec. 31. President Bush signed off on an appropriations bill that included an amendment to expedite her citizenship process Dec. 30.
And although Belbin has been competing in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships since 2000 -- winning championships with Ben Agosto the last two years -- this week marks the first time she is doing so as an American.
Should she and Agosto win a third time this week -- there's more of a chance that Honolulu will become the ice skating capital of the world than them not winning -- the title will have a different meaning. Belbin, who was born in Kingston, Ontario, and Agosto, who is originally from Chicago, will be America's newest Olympic dream team.
They are the leaders after the first two rounds of the competition. The free dance is Friday.
You might think that the U.S. Championships would be open onlly to American citizens, but in reality, only one partner needs to have such status. It's only at the Olympics where both skaters must be citizens of the same country. And because of Belbin's birthplace, the couple had to stay in their training town in suburban Detroit instead of skating in the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002.
So if Belbin and Agosto win here, they can both stand on top of the podium as Americans. Then they can start packing their bags for the Torino Olympics next month. The top three finishers at the U.S. Championships qualify for the Games.
It would have been an odd irony had Belbin not become an American in time for these Games since it was Belbin and Agosto's silver medal performance at the 2005 World Championships that earned the United States three spots in the Olympics. In the past, considering all of the political obstacles that they had to overcome for Belbin to become an American they never complained. In public, they've been all smiles. Belbin and Agosto tried to avoid even thinking about the Olympics. Only recently did Belbin admit to crying so much while watching the Salt Lake City Games that she had to turn off the TV.
This year, dreams of being on an Olympic podium are not being tuned out in her mind.
"Now," she said after the compulsory round, "we can visualize and imagine all we want."
In fact, the way it looks after the first two rounds of competition, the top three teams are all inter-country relationships. Melissa Gregory and her Russian-born partner, Denis Petukhov, who have been runners-up to Belbin and Agosto the last two years, are in second. The couple married in 2001, allowing him to speed up his citizenship process. He became an American last February.
In third place is the team of Morgan Matthews, originally of Chicago, and Maxim Zavozin, who was born in Russia but was sworn in as a U.S. citizen Dec. 30. Zavozin was able to expedite his citizenship, using the same amendment that was crafted by a Michigan senator to help Belbin. They train in Ashburn, Va., outside of Washington.
The team of Loren Galler-Rabinowitz and David Mitchell is in seventh place. Mitchell's parents sent an e-mail to several members of Congress, including Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, in an attempt to quash Belbin's citizenship amendment. The team experienced a backlash from fans, who were irate with what they considered unsportsmanlike conduct.
Galler-Rabinowitz and Mitchell were the U.S. bronze medalists in 2004. They did not compete at nationals last year because Mitchell was injured.
The top-finishing American-born couple was that of Jamie Silverstein and Ryan O'Meara. She is a Pittsburgh native. He's from Houston.
Belbin and Agosto both said that it might be a blessing that they didn't know until late in the game that they'd be eligible to compete in Torino. Other Olympians have been sweating out the Olympic pressure for the last year, if not the last years.
"Obviously, when we get there, it will be unlike anything we've ever experienced," Belbin said. "But I think it's actually good for us not to be considering this for the past year."
Only one U.S. ice dancing team has won a medal in the Olympics, and that was in 1976, the year the sport debuted in the Games. Belbin and Agosto have a shot at changing that.
The Olympics, Belbin said, gives them an opportunity to "shine a light" on the sport. But this team has made it clear that the Olympics have not been the be all and end all for them.
"I think we are very lucky that we can put our focus on things beyond the Olympics," Agosto said. "And the fact that we are eligible now to be on the team is such a bonus for us."
Nor do they envision hanging up their skates after this year. They've already hinted that they might stick around until 2010.
If they do keep training another four years then they'll have to skate in, where else?
Vancouver, Canada.
And, no, Agosto is not filling out Canadian citizenship papers anytime soon.
Sasha Cohen, the favorite to win the U.S. ladies title, has been battling the flu.
According to coach John Nicks, she became ill Friday night. She skated in St. Louis Tuesday, after arriving Monday night, but had a light practice.
Nicks ruled out any possibility that Cohen would seek a medical bye. The medical bye bug has been raging since Michelle Kwan announced last week that she was withdrawing with a pulled groin muscle.
The nine-time U.S. champion petitioned for a bye. A group of coaches, skaters, judges and officials will select the team following the women's event late Saturday night.
Amy Rosewater is a freelance writer based in Baltimore.
