– Robert Burns

In the world of figure skating, it is not uncommon pairs skaters and ice dancers that are partners on the ice are couples off the ice. On the ice they perform to melodious love masterpieces from Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Stravinsky and Beethoven. Off the ice they are everyday couples.

After pairing up in 2000, Rena Inoue and John Baldwin skated into each other’s hearts.

Inoue became a U.S. citizen in September 2005 passing the written and verbal test with a 100 percent. The 2006 Olympics will be her third trip to the Games, but her first as an American athlete. Her significant other, Baldwin, has competed for several years in the singles side of the sport.

Together they have won two U.S. National Championship titles in 2004 and 2006. In the last competition before the Olympics get started, they captured the crown at the Four Continents Championships.

These pairs skaters are head to Torino strong, but they are even stronger off the ice as a couple. Maybe their success on the ice is influenced from their success off the ice.

Creating a strong and lasting relationship.

Tip #1: It has to be more than physical.

“I think any relationship that is built on just physical attraction doesn’t last,” Baldwin said. “You better find something else in the relationship if you are going to be with that person for the rest of your life.”

Tip #2: Respect the other person.

“When you start arguing on the ice,” Inoue said. “If you don’t have respect for each other, then you just don’t get over it.”

Tip #3: Have fun together.

“We play volleyball every weekend,” Baldwin said. “We eat out at restaurants three or four times a week. We have really fancy bikes for riding on the boardwalks at the beach. We go around RVing a lot, camping. We’re just very active.”

Tip #4: Try your best at all times.

“I want to impress her,” Baldwin said. “I love her and everything. I want to make her proud of me. The reason I fell in love with Rena was because I saw the kind of person she was on the ice and I started looking up to her. Who doesn’t want to be around people they admire every day?”

Tip #5: How to convert your success as a couple to your sport.

“If you care about the person and that person cares about you, I think it can be very advantageous just in that you care about each other,” Baldwin said. “It’s not just OK, here we are, we’ll do our work and then we leave. I see everyday what Rena accomplishes on the ice and I wish I could be like her. I look up to her. Even not just as a skater, but a person too.”

“I think there is more trust in each other,” Inoue said. “I think it makes [skating together] easier.”