Belbin and Agosto have withdrawn | Golden Skate

Belbin and Agosto have withdrawn

EWalker

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
BELBIN AND AGOSTO WITHDRAW FROM 2009 GRAND PRIX FINAL



COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 24, 2009) – Five-time U.S. ice dancing champions Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto announced today they will not compete at the 2009 International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Tokyo, Japan, Dec. 3-6, due to illness.



Belbin has been suffering from an infected wisdom tooth that required immediate oral surgery to avoid medical complications. Her oral surgeon advised her to avoid strenuous activity for at least one week following the surgery.



“Tanith had been attempting to control the infection with antibiotics, but, unfortunately, surgery became necessary in order to prevent more serious problems,” Agosto said. “The surgery was completed today, and it will be about a week before she can return to full training."



Belbin and Agosto said they are confident that they will be ready to compete at the 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Jan. 14-24, in Spokane , Wash.



"Tanith and I are very disappointed that we won't be able to compete at the Grand Prix Final,” said Agosto. “As soon as Tanith is ready, we’ll be back on the ice and training for U.S. Championships in January.”



Belbin and Agosto are four-time World medalists, winning silver in 2005 and 2009, and bronze in 2006-07. They also won silver at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino , Italy . The team trains in Aston , Pa. , under the direction of former Olympic champions Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov.
 

Atena

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
nooo, this is sad but I hope she is ok

She said something about this on her twitter some days ago.
 

Narumi1997

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 24, 2009
nooo, this is sad but I hope she is ok

She said something about this on her twitter some days ago.
This is what Tanith said on twitter
"I'm a little uncomfortable w/ my dentist's choice of the term "ticking time bomb" to describe my wisdom teeth.I live on the edge."
 

MK's Winter

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
I hope she feels better, I was really looking forward to them competing here. More time to prepare for Nationals though:agree:
 

Hsuhs

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
I too hope Tanith feels better if not already then asap.

I hope B&A are back in shape by US Nats. I'd love to see D&W beating healthy rivals, not poor sick people who can't skate to their full potential because of the health issues.
 

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Darn I was looking forward to my favorites B/A blowing the competition way. (I can dream can't I). Hope Tanith is feeling better soon. Who is the first alternative?
 

Medusa

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 6, 2007
Darn I was looking forward to my favorites B/A blowing the competition way. (I can dream can't I). Hope Tanith is feeling better soon. Who is the first alternative?

The Russians with the horrific costumes...:scowl:
 

bigsisjiejie

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 22, 2009
I find the timing of the tooth most interesting. It's been suspected they would withdraw from GP Final for strategy reasons. Whatever. Regardless of reason, we are now stuck with K/N. :scowl:
 

evangeline

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
*sigh* I was hoping to see their lovely FD again, too!

Good luck to Tanith and Ben, and hopefully we'll be able to see them at full strength at US Nationals.
 

KKonas

Medalist
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
I find the timing of the tooth most interesting. It's been suspected they would withdraw from GP Final for strategy reasons. Whatever. Regardless of reason, we are now stuck with K/N. :scowl:

Well, it is a good strategy - why take a chance on losing, especially to DW, before Nationals?
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Well, it is a good strategy - why take a chance on losing, especially to DW, before Nationals?

I don't see why that would be a good strategy. Wouldn't it be just as good a strategy to trounce Davis and White just before Nationals?

On the other hand, if Belbin and Agosto do not feel confident that they can beat Davis and White in December, will they feel any more confident in January?

But -- yeah -- the timing. According to Philip Hersh we cannot raise questions about athletes' injuries. Still, I wonder if they would have withdrawn from the Olympics if Tanith developed dental problems two weeks before? Or would they have managed somehow to push through?
 

KKonas

Medalist
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
I don't see why that would be a good strategy. Wouldn't it be just as good a strategy to trounce Davis and White just before Nationals?

They couldn't be sure they could "trounce" DW at the Final, especially after their not so great scores at the GP and that could impact their chances of winning back their national title.

On the other hand, if Belbin and Agosto do not feel confident that they can beat Davis and White in December, will they feel any more confident in January?

They are assuming VM will win, which would give them better than even chances of getting their national title back.

But -- yeah -- the timing. According to Philip Hersh we cannot raise questions about athletes' injuries. Still, I wonder if they would have withdrawn from the Olympics if Tanith developed dental problems two weeks before? Or would they have managed somehow to push through?

I admit to being cynical about this "emergency dental surgery." Impacted wisdom teeth do not just "happen" overnight and should have been removed in the off season to avoid just such a problem.
 

mishieru07

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 23, 2009
I don't see why that would be a good strategy. Wouldn't it be just as good a strategy to trounce Davis and White just before Nationals?

On the other hand, if Belbin and Agosto do not feel confident that they can beat Davis and White in December, will they feel any more confident in January?

But -- yeah -- the timing. According to Philip Hersh we cannot raise questions about athletes' injuries. Still, I wonder if they would have withdrawn from the Olympics if Tanith developed dental problems two weeks before? Or would they have managed somehow to push through?

It cuts both ways Mathman. If B/A placed lower than D/W, that might hurt them going into nationals. I know you can't compare scores across competitions but B/A has been consistently scoring lower than V/M and D/W twice. Not a very good sign.

Whatever, I'll believe what they say about her wisdom tooth (It hurts like a b****) and just wish them well for the rest of the season. US Nationals is going to be absolutely killer this year; both D/W and B/A must go since they decided not to grant medical byes anymore (correct me if I'm wrong).

Dang, and I thought we would live to see the day there are no Russians in the Dance GPF. I really hope K/N have changed their costumes and stepped up their programmes.
 

merrybari

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
I admit to being cynical about this "emergency dental surgery." Impacted wisdom teeth do not just "happen" overnight and should have been removed in the off season to avoid just such a problem.

The term was "infected" not impacted. There's a difference and infection can happen quickly. IIRC it did say she'd been trying to control it with antibiotics without success. Been there done that myself - and those who say it hurts like b***h are spot on!

I don't think strategy has anything to do with it. After all, those three teams trained together for years. The GPF would've been a great place for all of them to test their relative skills and placement so each would know better what they have to concentrate on for February. I'm quite sure as competitors they'd rather know now than find out in Vancouver.
 

iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
This news is a bummer, but I wish Tanith a complete & speedy recovery. I was so looking forward to seeing them compete in the GPF, but it's important to take care of this now. Better that it happened at this point then at US Nationals & Vancouver. .
 

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
I have to admit the Ice Dance competition has lost its steam for me. It has become somewhat predictable now that B/A are not in the mix. Gold and Silver to D/W and V/M any order. Thank goodness for the men and pairs.
 
Top