2019 marks the one year anniversary of the tragic passing of Denis Ten from Kazakhstan. Ten died from severe blood loss after he was stabbed in the thigh during an attempted robbery.
Two men were in the process of stealing the door mirrors from Ten’s vehicle when he tried to intervene. The stab wound severed his femoral artery and the loss of blood was significant. He was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery but sadly passed away about three hours later.
Dennis Ten was Kazakhstan’s most successful figure skater to date with his highest achievement being his bronze medal at the 2014 Olympic Games in the Men’s Singles event.
In honor of Ten, the foundation named after him will be hosting the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge in Almaty, Kazakhstan from the 10th to the 13th of October 2019.
Link to competition page and announcement.
Evan Wrensch (WP) will be competing in this prestigious event where he will be aiming to qualify his Free Skate for the Junior World Championships next year.
This competition will likely draw a lot of attention in the figure skating world as Ten was a well liked and respected athlete. This additional exposure will no doubt create a lot of festivity during the competition which can be daunting for many. Evan, however, is a seasoned competitor and knows the ropes. He will be able to block out the circus around him and concentrate on his own performance as we have seen him do in the past.
We wish him all the best for this competition and trust that he will harness the support from the entire South African skating community. Updates with schedules and scores as well as the livestream links will be advertised once they are available.
