Tanith Belbin Arrives in Vancouver

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — When Tanith  
Belbin arrived at the Athletes Village on Friday
morning, after a harrowing journey that included
12 cancelled flights because of the snowstorm in
Philadelphia, fellow Olympian Johnny Weir doted
on her as if she were a princess.

Weir, a three-time U.S. men’s figure skating
champion, had aroma candles in her room and
Audrey Hepburn posters on the wall.

“He put away all my clothes in the closet,” Belbin
said with a laugh.

Belbin, the defending Olympic silver medalist in
ice dance with Ben Agosto, has one of the most
unusual rooming arrangements at the Winter
Games. She requested a single room — which
she received — but learned before departing for
Vancouver that a male figure skater would be her
suitemate: the eccentric and, as he would say,
highly fashionable, Johnny Weir.

As it turns out, Belbin said, the arrangement is
perfect because the two have been friends since
they were 15.

“We’ve kind of had the same time-line
progression,” Belbin said of their figure skating
careers. “We’ve always stayed really close. He
used to come visit me in Detroit.

“He’s been a close part of our family.”

Belbin and Agosto trained in Michigan for 10
years before leaving for Aston, Pa., for new
coaches in the spring of 2008.

Belbin, born in Canada, holds dual citizenship.
She became a U.S. citizen in December 2005,
shortly before competing at the 2006 Torino
Winter Games.

The three U.S. Olympic ice dance teams met with
the media Friday. Two-time American champions
Meryl Davis and Charlie White, and U.S. bronze
medalists Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates of the
Ann Arbor FSC practiced on the Olympic ice in
the morning at the Pacific Coliseum.

“We had our first practice — skated on official
ice — but we haven’t got in our official rooms,”
Bates said.