American Sportswomen - Tanith Belbin, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Kathy Flores, Melissa Stockwell, Alissa Wykes (Paperback)

Chapters: Tanith Belbin, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Kathy Flores, Melissa Stockwell, Alissa Wykes. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 27. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Tanith Jessica Louise Belbin (born July 11, 1984) is a Canadian-American ice dancer. Though born in Canada, she holds dual citizenship and has competed for the United States since she began skating with Benjamin Agosto in 1998. With Agosto, Belbin is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, four-time World medalist, three-time Four Continents champion (20042006), and five-time U.S. champion (20042008). As of April 2010, they are ranked 4th in the world by the International Skating Union (ISU). At the 2010 United States Figure Skating Championships, they were nominated to represent the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Tanith Belbin was born in Kingston, Ontario and raised in Kirkland, Quebec. She lived and trained in Canton, Michigan for many years, before moving to Aston, Pennsylvania to train at Ice Works. Belbin's mother, Michelle (McKinlay) Belbin, is a costume designer and she makes some of Belbin's costumes. She trained as a figure skater in St. John's, Newfoundland, under Rolf Adomeit. Her father, Charles Belbin, an engineer, was a huge supporter of her career along with her mother. Tanith Belbin competed as a pair skater and ice dancer in Canada before concentrating completely on ice dancing. She was introduced to ice dancing by Paul Wirtz and competed with Liam Dougherty as an ice dancer and Ben Barruco as a pair skater in Canada. She did not compete internationally with them. Unable to find a dance partner in Canada, Belbin moved to Detroit in 1998, where she was partnered with Benjamin Agosto by their coach Igor Shpilband. They had early success, winning the bronze at the World Junior Figure Skating Champi...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=129848