Olympic Skater Dennis Ten Dies

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

The sports world is mourning the death of Olympic skater Denis Ten, who died after being stabbed in a confrontation with two unidentified men, according to various reports.

The young man from Kazakhstan, who won a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics, was allegedly assaulted by two men who were trying to steal mirrors from his car in Almaty, the Russian news agency TASS reported.

TASS reported that Ten was found unconscious on the street by passersby, who called an ambulance. Hours later he died in hospital, the BBC reported.

The International Skating Union seemed to confirm the tragic news on Twitter and wrote: "Our most sincere condolences to Denis' family, friends and admirers around the world." In a statement, the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, said: “Denis Ten was a great athlete and a great ambassador for his sport. A warm personality and a charming man. Such a tragedy is losing him at such a young age."

Countless other figure skaters were quick to express their shock and sadness at the news of Ten's death, including American athletes Adam Rippon and Johnny Weir.

According to the New York Times, Ten was born in Almaty, but spent part of his early training years in California, working with coach Frank Carroll. His 2014 Olympic bronze was preceded by a silver medal at the 2013 world championship, the outlet said.

Local police told tengrinews.kz that the investigation into the incident and efforts to identify the suspects are ongoing, according to Reuters.