Inna Volyanskaya

Inna Volyanskaya was a Russian pair skater who competed for the Soviet Union. With Valery Spiridonov, she won six international medals, including gold at the 1982 Nebelhorn Trophy.

Career

Volyanskaya/Spiridonov won silver at the 1980 St. Ivel International, gold at the 1980 Blue Swords, silver at the 1981 Prague Skate, gold at the 1982 Grand [Prix International St. Gervais], and gold at the 1982 Nebelhorn Trophy. After retiring from competition, they skated together in ice shows, including Torvill & Dean and the Russian Allstars.
From 2017 until her death in 2025, Volyanskaya worked as a skating coach at the Ashburn Ice House in Ashburn, Virginia, United States.

Volyanskaya was born on 5 July 1965. She was at one-time married to Spiridonov, and was at the time of her death married to Jeremy Wilson. Volyanskaya also had a daughter, Maria, whose godmother was Volyanskaya's former coach, Tatiana Tarasova.
On 29 January 2025, Volyanskaya died when the passenger jet she was onboard 2025 [Potomac River mid-air collision|collided with an U.S. Army helicopter] above the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., leaving no survivors. She was 59. On March 2, 2025, U.S. Figure Skating held the ice show Legacy on Ice, which paid tribute to Volyanskaya and the other victims that were killed aboard American Eagle Flight 5342. Volyanskaya's former students paid tribute to their coach by skating to "You'll Be in My Heart" by Phil Collins.

;with Spiridonov