Inna Volyanskaya and Valery Spiridonov 1982 St Gervais FS

Inna Volyanskaya, 59, is remembered as a tiny woman with a fierce heart of gold. One skating mother referred to her as a ‘rare diamond’. Inna represented the Soviet Union as a pair skater with Valeri Spiridonov - earning gold medals at the 1980 Blue Swords, 1982 Grand Prix International St. Gervais and 1982 Nebelhorn Trophy. After retiring from competition, she skated for many years in Tatiana Tarasova’s company, performing in many shows such as Torvill and Dean and the Russian All-stars. She performed with Disney on Ice as and was cast to skate as Princess Aurora in ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ Cinderella in the ice show ‘Cinderella,’ Belle in ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ and Ariel in Disney on Ice’s ‘The Little Mermaid'. Inna coached at the Ashburn Ice House and was accompanying two of her promising students home from the developmental camp. According to friend Caitlin McGuire, "she moved like a graceful humming bird, on and off the ice. She always greeted people with a gentle smile, and was soft spoken. She was proud of her daughter, Masha, who too shared a passion for the ice. She described her as "amazing, unique, hardworking, talented, and easy to love." She leaves Masha behind, and her husband, Jeremy, whom she loved to travel with." Our hearts weep at the loss of Inna." #aa5342 #usfigureskating