Who Is Denis Ten? Here are five facts about the Olympic figure skater who died at 25 after being stabbed during an attempted car robbery.
The skating world is mourning the loss of one its Olympic talents. On July 19 news broke that Denis Ten was stabbed to death in his homeland of Kazakhstan. He was just 25. The circumstances of his passing are terrifying. According to the news agency Kazinform, he was stabbed in the thigh during an alleged car robbery. He reportedly caught two men trying to steal his car mirrors and there was a scuffle. Denis was rushed to hospital but, sadly, later died from his injuries. A government spokesperson confirmed the news, according to BBC Sport, saying, “Unfortunately, he is not with us anymore.” Here’s everything you need to know about the amazing talent, whose life was cut tragically short.
1. He is a bronze Olympic medalist after coming third at Sochi, Russia in 2014. The achievement was a big deal for him and his country as he was the first Kazakh figure skater to win an Olympic medal. Denis also won a silver medal at the world championships the year before, in 2013.
2. He was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan and was of Korean descent. At the age of 10 he moved to Moscow, Russia with his mom Oksana to train, but in 2010 he relocated to Southern California where he started working with coach Frank Carroll. During a 2015 New York Times interview Dennis said of his coach, “He puts so much effort in it, and he’s always there for you.”
3. He was plagued by injury during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Alas, he only came in 27 th.
4. He had other ambitions outside of figure skating. While he loved his sport, according to AP, he had other interests, including studying economics and spoke of wanting to write a movie script.
5. Fellow Olympic figure skaters took to social media to mourn his death. Adam Rippon tweeted, “My skating friend, @Tenis_Den, passed away today. He was so kind to everyone and a huge inspiration to me and so many other people.”
Olympic medalist Johnny Weir tweeted that he is “completely devastated,” adding, “This is such an incredible loss and tragedy.”
