Alex Benoit

Alex Benoit
Personal information
Country represented United States
Born (1995-10-09) October 9, 1995
Winfield, Illinois
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Partner Elliana Pogrebinsky
Former partner Olivia Di Iorio
Coach Igor Shpilband
Former coach Candice Brown
Choreographer Igor Shpilband
Training locations Novi, Michigan
Former training locations Naperville, Illinois
Began skating 2004
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 146.83
2016 Junior Worlds
Short dance 59.13
2015 JGP Logrono
Free dance 87.78
2016 Junior Worlds

Alex Benoit (born October 9, 1995) is an American competitive ice dancer. With partner Elliana Pogrebinsky, he is a two-time (2015–16) U.S. junior national bronze medalist and placed fourth at the 2016 World Junior Championships.

Personal life

Alex Benoit was born on October 9, 1995 in Winfield, Illinois.[1] He has French-Canadian and Ukrainian ancestry.[2] After finishing high school through distance education, he enrolled at Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan, where he is studying for a Bachelor of Fine Arts/Theatre degree.[3]

Early career

Benoit began skating in 2004.[1] Competing as a single skater, he won the national juvenile bronze medal at the 2009 U.S. Junior Championships and was awarded the intermediate bronze medal the following season. Candice Brown coached him from 2004 to 2014.[3]

Benoit teamed up with Olivia Di Iorio in late 2012.[4] The two placed 11th in junior ice dancing at the 2014 U.S. Championships. They were coached by Candice Brown and Igor Shpilband in Naperville, Illinois and Novi, Michigan.[4]

Partnership with Pogrebinsky

Benoit teamed up with Elliana Pogrebinsky in March 2014.[3] Their international debut came at the 2014–15 ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) in Aichi; after placing fifth in Japan, Pogrebinsky/Benoit were sent to the JGP in Zagreb, Croatia, where they finished 8th. In January 2015, they won the junior bronze medal at the 2015 U.S. Championships and were selected to compete at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn. Ranked 12th in the short dance, they qualified for the free dance (14th) and finished 13th overall in Estonia.

During the 2015–16 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, Pogrebinsky/Benoit placed fourth in Linz, Austria, and won the bronze medal in Logroño, Spain. They repeated as junior national bronze medalists and were assigned to the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. They placed 5th in the Short Dance, followed by 4th place in the Free Dance. They secured 4th place overall in Hungary.

Programs

With Pogrebinsky

Season Short dance Free dance
2015–16
[1]
2014–15
[5][6]
  • Straight to Memphis
    by Club des Belugas
  • Beijos
    by DJ Vadim
  • Banto
    by Kaoma

With Di Iorio

Season Short dance Free dance
2013–14
[4]
  • Medley
    by Dean Martin

Competitive highlights

JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Pogrebinsky

International[7]
Event 2014–15 2015–16
Junior Worlds 13th 4th
JGP Austria 4th
JGP Croatia 8th
JGP Japan 5th
JGP Spain 3rd
National[3]
U.S. Championships 3rd J. 3rd J.
Midwestern Sectionals 1st J. 1st J.
J. = Junior level

With Di Iorio

National[4][8]
Event 2013–14
U.S. Championships 11th J.
Midwestern Sectionals 3rd J.
J. = Junior level

Single skating

National
Event 2008–09 2009–10
U.S. Junior Championships 3rd Jv. 3rd I.
Levels: Jv. = Juvenile; I. = Intermediate

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Elliana POGREBINSKY / Alex BENOIT: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016.
  2. Pogrebinsky, Elliana; Benoit, Alex (September 9, 2015). "Waltzing on the Danube: Ice dancers blog from Linz". IceNetwork.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Elliana Pogrebinsky and Alex Benoit". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Olivia Di Iorio & Alex Benoit". ice-dance.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016.
  5. "Elliana POGREBINSKY / Alex BENOIT: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015.
  6. "Programs". Official website of Pogrebinsky & Benoit. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016.
  7. "Competition Results: Elliana POGREBINSKY / Alex BENOIT". International Skating Union.
  8. "Competition Results: Olivia DI IORIO / Alex BENOIT". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016.

External links

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