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Tucson to Turin: Local residents talk about their connections to the Winter Olympics.

Names: Tadija Janjic and Cathy Stewart.

Ages: 35 and 47.

Occupations: Electrical engineer and lawyer.

Connection: The couple will travel to Turin to watch their friend, Canadian Olympic speedskater Clara Hughes, above, compete. Stewart said it's nice to have an excuse to attend the Olympics. "If I was ever going to go, it was to watch someone I actually know compete."

Fun facts: Hughes is the fourth athlete in Olympic history to win a medal in the summer and winter Olympics. In 1996, she won two bronze medals in cycling in Atlanta and won the bronze in the 5,000-meter speed-skating event in the 2002 Salt Lake City games.

Background: Last April, Stewart was notified by a friend that Hughes and her husband wanted to spend some time in Arizona cycling and were looking for a place to stay. So Stewart acted on Janjic's behalf. "I volunteered his guest house," she said.

The two couples hit it off cycling and hanging out in the Old Pueblo and have kept in touch. Hughes loves Arizona and has been back to Tucson at least twice since then to relax in between training for the Olympics, Janjic said.

Puppy love: While staying at Janjic's, his dog, Franklin, fell head over paws for the red-headed Hughes. "He was following her everywhere," Janjic said.

Grounded: Janjic and Stewart said Hughes was extremely humble, unfussy and has even made time to correspond via e-mail while competing in the Olympics. "She's amazingly down to earth," Stewart said.

A city by any other name: "Everyone says the Olympics are in Turin," said Janjic, who is from Serbia-Montenegro. "I'm like, 'That city doesn't exist. It's Torino.' "

Off to Turin: The couple, along with Stewart's daughter, Mikaela Jones, and friend, Quiana Myers, seniors at Tucson High School, are scheduled to leave today for Switzerland to ski before making the 100-mile trek to Turin to watch Hughes compete. If the couple made a similar trek in Arizona it would probably only take them about two hours. In Europe, Janjic said it will take at least 4 1/2 hours since motorists drive slower and roads are narrower.

The couple will only spend a day in Turin to watch Hughes, who won a silver medal in the team pursuit on Thursday, compete in the 5,000 meters next Saturday because hotel rooms are hard to come by, as are event tickets, Stewart said. "It's going to be quite a marathon," she said.

— Kevin W. Smith