For ice dancing pair and married couple Melissa Gregory (Northbrook, Ill.) and Denis Petukhov (Kirov, Russia), it was the Internet that brought these two athletes together in love and in competition. Both Gregory and Petukhov were searching for a partner after the 2000 figure skating season and found each other through a “partner wanted” ad on an online message board. After speaking on the phone about their goals, Petukhov flew to Colorado Springs, Colo. to meet Gregory.

He never used his return plane ticket to Russia.

Although worlds apart, the two came from similar situations. Gregory and Petukhov were rising to the top in their respective country just as their partners decided to leave. Petukhov, with Oksana Potdykova, claimed the silver medal at the 1997 World Junior Championships and a bronze in 1998. Gregory and James Shuford were the 1998 U.S. junior dance champions and finished 10th at the 1998 World Junior Championships.

“We knew right away,” said Gregory about how soon they became aware their partnership would work. “We went out on the ice by ourselves without any coaches around—our coach was coming later. By the time our coach got there, we knew we wanted to skate together. It was a done deal before anyone ever saw us.”

Despite cultural differences and initial language barriers, Gregory and Petukhov discovered a unique connection on the ice. The skaters were inseparable and their growing love interest was obvious in their graceful performances.

“After a few months, our relationship really started to develop,” said Petukhov. “It didn’t take me a long time to fall in love and then finally I was brave enough to ask her to marry me.”

Gregory and Petukhov were married Feb. 2, 2001, which means these Olympic hopefuls could be celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

Both older and more experienced, the ice dancing duo uses their distinctive personal connection to add a genuine grace to their dancing.

“Because of our relationship, our connection on the ice is one of the big things that set us apart from other skaters,” said Gregory.

The art of ice dancing is very different from pair’s figure skating—it takes the athleticism of skating and combines it with the beauty of dancing. Gregory and Petukhov have built a rhythm and grace in their performances that has earned them two bronze and two silver medals at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships from 2002-2005. In addition, the pair claimed the bronze at the 2005 Skate Canada, placed second at the 2005 Four Continents Championships and captured 11th at the 2005 World Championships in front of Petukhov’s home country of Russia.

The married couple’s journey this season is taking them to St. Louis, Mo., where they will vie for a spot on the Olympic team at the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships Jan. 7-15.

“We want to make people notice how different we are from the last time they saw us on the ice,” Gregory said. “Aside from that, there’s not much else under our control or much that we can do other than work on our own skating and to make people really notice the difference every time we step on the ice.”

The ice dancing duo skates mostly to romantic music and classical pieces but occasionally surprises the audience with a fun Latin style. It’s a combination of experience and skill—not to mention a personal relationship that make this pair a “must see” this Olympic season.

“Our life together,” said Petukhov about his proudest accomplishment. “We are accomplishing a lot in many different things. We are growing as a couple, we have a career skating and we travel a lot.”

When they’re not on the ice or creating a life together, this pair spends time giving back to the community with their time and contributions. Not long after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, the duo picked up their hammers and helped Habitat for Humanity build houses for the victims of the disaster outside NBC’s Today Show studio. With a history of cancer in both of their families, Gregory and Petukhov also contribute to that cause by performing for a cancer benefit every May.

“We’re so fortunate to do what we do—it’s something that we’re passionate about and we love,” said Gregory. “Anytime that we can make someone happy or help them out—then that’s something that we will try and do our best to accomplish.”

They might consider themselves fortunate, but they spend countless hours on the ice preparing for the tough road ahead to a debut Olympic appearance. All eyes will be on Gregory and Petukhov as they try to outdo the home competition at the upcoming U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis.