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Kazakhs Olympic skater and medalist, Denis Ten, died Thursday, July 19, 2018, during an attempted robbery gone wrong.
He was attacked in the streets of Almaty, Kazakhstan when two men were reportedly attempting to steal his car mirrors in the afternoon. Ten caught the perpetrators in the act, resulting in a brawl.
The unidentified suspects stabbed the figure skater several times in the thigh before fleeing the scene.
After he was injured, officials hurried him to the nearest hospital. According to KazInform, he later died almost 3 hours later as a result of extensive bleeding, despite CPR attempts.
In the wake of his death, many friends and fans created an uproar over the fact that the suspects were not yet arrested. Almaty Department of Internal Affairs declared an investigation was initiated, and they were taking extensive measures to “identify and detain suspected persons.”
The 25-year-old skater had the honor of winning the Four Continents Figure Skating Championship in 2015 and was a silver medalist in the world championship in 2013.
Deeply saddened by the news of the Olympic star’s early death, a fellow skater, Adam Rippon, expressed his regret that the skater could not spend more time on earth.
In the history of his career as a skater, he left his country at the age of 10. At that age, still considered a member of Kazakhstan’s Korean minority, he moved to Moscow.
The victim left for California, shortly afterward, to train under a renowned skating coach, Frank Carroll. People saw him as a “young man with a warm personality,” and he was seen as someone who gave generously.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach remembered him fondly. He recalled the young man had, “A warm personality and a charming man. Such a tragedy to lose him at such a young age” Bach continued by describing Ten’s death is a “dark day for us all;” those who knew and loved the young Olympic skater.
Written by Brielle R. Buford
Edited by Cathy Milne
Sources:
Tengri News: Denis Ten passed away
USA TODAY: Olympic figure skater, medalist Denis Ten dies after stabbing in Kazakhstan
ABC News: Olympic figure skater stabbed to death in Kazakhstan
Kazinform: Kazakh figure skater Denis Ten dies at the age of 25
Top and Featured image courtesy of hc_skate’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License