Belbin and Agosto Withdraw from 2008 Grand Prix Final

(12/13/08) - Five-time U.S. ice dancing champions Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto have withdrawn from the 2008 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Goyang City, Republic Korea.

Agosto is suffering from pain in his back, which has caused numbness in his right leg.

"My back started hurting in practice, and it just kept getting progressively worse each time I tried to do something," Agosto said.

Agosto spent most of the day working with the team doctor on the injury.

"I've been at the rink since 2:30 p.m. trying to get it in condition," Agosto said. "I'm going to have to go back and let them take a look at it and figure out what's wrong."

Team USA physician Dr. Robert Kruse believes the team's withdrawal from the event was necessary.

"He's been having trouble with numbness, and, to be safe, we feel that the correct and safe decision is to withdraw," Kruse said.

The team sat in fourth place going into Saturday's free skate, .56 points behind Italy's Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali.

"I don't think this is a big break in our momentum," Belbin said. "Injuries happen to all skaters; it's just a natural occurrence in the sport. I'd much rather that (Ben) go home and get better than run the risk of hurting himself or me."

This was the team's fourth trip to the Grand Prix Final. They won bronze in 2003 and silver in 2004 and 2007. Their next scheduled competition is the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Jan. 18-25, in Cleveland, Ohio.

The second U.S. entry in ice dancing at the Grand Prix Final, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, took home bronze.