Accessibility links

Breaking News

Mourners Honor Slain Kazakh Olympic Skater Denis Ten One Year After His Death


A memorial to Denis Ten was unveiled in Almaty on June 22.
A memorial to Denis Ten was unveiled in Almaty on June 22.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Hundreds of people have gathered in Kazakhstan's second city to honor Kazakh Olympic figure skater Denis Ten one year after he was fatally stabbed by two men trying to steal parts off his car.

Local residents, friends, noted Kazakh athletes, Almaty city authorities, and fellow figure skaters from Canada, Japan, and Russia met on July 19 at the site where the killers struck exactly one year earlier, after the 25-year-old Olympic medalist confronted them while they were trying to take his sideview mirrors.

Mourners also brought flowers to the site where on June 22 a monument to Ten was unveiled.

Songs written and performed by Ten were played at the ceremony.

In January, a court in Almaty convicted the men of murder and sentenced them each to 18 years in prison.

The third defendant in the case, a woman, was found guilty of failing to report a crime and handed a four-year prison sentence.

Ten became Kazakhstan's first-ever figure-skating Olympic medalist when he earned a bronze at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He also won medals at the world championships in 2013 and 2015.

Ten trained in Moscow and the United States.

  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL's Kazakh Service

    RFE/RL's Kazakh Service offers informed and accurate reporting in the Kazakh and Russian languages about issues that matter in Kazakhstan, while providing a dynamic platform for audience engagement and the free exchange of news and ideas.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG