Early years 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. 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. When that partnership ended, Agosto moved from Chicago to Michigan in 1998 in order to train under
Igor Shpilband.
Partnership with Belbin 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. 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. At
Nationals in 2005, the last year of the 6.0 system, they received straight perfect sixes for presentation in their free dance. 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). 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. 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. 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. Belbin/Agosto went on to win the Olympic silver medal in ice dance on February 20, 2006. 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. 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. Belbin/Agosto were regular cast members of the
Champions on Ice tour from 2004 until COI went out of business following the 2007 season. 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. This also gave Belbin more core strength to hold her positions better, thus making lifts easier for Agosto. Belbin/Agosto began the 2008–2009 season at the
2008 Skate America and
2008 Cup of China, winning silver at both competitions. They withdrew from the
2008–2009 ISU Grand Prix Final after the original dance due to a back injury to Agosto. They withdrew from the
2009 U.S. Championships before the event began to due Agosto's injury. They were named to the team to the
2009 World Championships. At Worlds, they won the original dance and placed second in the compulsory and free dances to win the silver medal overall. Belbin/Agosto won both their Grand Prix events in the 2009-10 season: the
2009 Cup of China and the
2009 Skate America. They withdrew from the Grand Prix Final for medical reasons. At the
2010 U.S. Championships, they were unable to reclaim their national title, finishing second behind
Meryl Davis and
Charlie White. Belbin/Agosto were nominated to represent the
United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics. They finished 4th in the Olympic
ice dancing event. They did not compete at the
2010 World Championships. On June 10, 2010, Belbin and Agosto announced their retirement from eligible skating. Since then they have toured professionally in ice shows. On December 15, 2015,
U.S. Figure Skating announced Belbin and Agosto would be members of the
U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame Class of 2016. The induction ceremony was held on January 22, 2016, at the
2016 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Later career Agosto works as a coach and choreographer. He has choreographed for three
Disney on Ice shows and in 2014, he became the director of ice dance at the Ice Den in
Scottsdale, Arizona. Agosto also worked as a voice actor for a
video game in 2006, and expressed an interest in continuing in the field. He has performed on television as a spokesperson for the
United States Census. == Programs ==