Their notable competitions included a gold medal at the inaugural pairs event of the 1984 Skate Canada International, as well as the 1986 European Championships, where they won the bronze.

In 1992, they won the Soviet Nationals over the teams of Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov and Marina Eltsova and Andrei Bushkov (Bechke and Petrov's training partners and chief rivals, Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev, missed the Nationals but qualified for the Olympics as they were the reigning World Champions).

Bechke and Petrov's moderate success as amateurs stemmed from Bechke's inconsistency in competition due to her nerves, as well as many uninspiring (and some downright questionable) competitive programs, such as the infamous "Dialogue of Cats," created by their coach that did little to showcase their talents.

As both amateurs and professionals, Bechke and Petrov were known for their exquisite posture and lines, inventive moves (such as the "Impossible" death spiral), great unison and proximity on their jumps and side-by-side spins, as well as many difficult and intricate lift sequences.

In Steve Milton's book, Skate Talk, Bechke has said that while the marriage was not one of "convenience" (as was many times the case in the USSR), she did feel pressured by her parents to get married as she was getting "so old".

[5] (with Petrov) Snowstorm by Georgy Sviridov Liebesträume by Franz Liszt Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin Liebesträume by Franz Liszt The Lady and the Hooligan by Dmitri Shostakovich On the Beautiful Blue Danube/Radetzky March by Josef Strauss Russian Dance (traditional) Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix from Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Saëns I Masnadieri by Giuseppe Verdi You Don't Bring Me Flowers by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond Kalinka trad.

; Red Army Choir Grand Pas de deux from The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Wabash Blues by Isham Jones Once Upon a Dream from the Jekyll & Hyde musical I Masnadieri by Giuseppe Verdi Wabash Blues by Isham Jones Yellow Submarine by The Beatles (instrumental) Once Upon a Dream from the Jekyll & Hyde musical I Masnadieri by Giuseppe Verdi