The Denis Ten Memorial Challenge is named in honor of Denis Ten, a former figure skater who competed internationally for Kazakhstan. He was the 2014 Winter Olympic bronze medalist, two-time World Championship medalist (silver in 2013; bronze in 2015), the 2015 Four Continents champion, and five-time Kazakh national champion. He was a member of the Astana Presidential Club, an organization that supported and developed high-achievement sports in Kazakhstan.[2] Prior to Ten's success, Kazakhstan had almost no presence in international figure skating. After his bronze medal finish at the 2014 Winter Olympics, he became a national icon, responsible for a surge in popularity of figure skating in Kazakhstan. He was also part of Kazakhstan's bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.[3] Ten was murdered on 19 July 2018 in Almaty by two carjackers who were attempting to steal his mirrors.[4] His death prompted widespread condolences from the international sports community. Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, described Ten as "a great athlete and a great ambassador for his sport... Such a tragedy to lose him at such a young age."[5]Arystanbek Muhamediuly, Kazakh Minister of Culture and Sport, said: "Denis Ten was an incredible figure skater, the legend of our sport, our pride."[6]
One of Denis’s main goals was to develop figure skating in Kazakhstan and represent the country on the world sports arena. Therefore, we are very proud that our country has the honour of organising a tournament of this scale for the first time... We are very happy to give unforgettable emotions to all lovers of figure skating.
—Oksana Ten, mother of Denis Ten and founder of the Denis Ten Foundation[7]
Organized by the Denis Ten Foundation, the inaugural edition of the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge was held in 2019 at the Halyk Arena in Almaty. Ten's mother Oksana wrote that "one of Denis's main goals was to develop figure skating in Kazakhstan."[7]Morisi Kvitelashvili of Georgia won the inaugural men's event, Serafima Sakhanovich of Russia won the women's event, Lina Kudriavtseva and Ilia Spiridonov of Russia won the pairs event, and Katharina Müller and Tim Dieck of Germany won the ice dance event.[8]
The competition was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] In 2021, the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge was the seventh event of the ISU Challenger Series,[10] a series of international figure skating competitions sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU) and organized by ISU member nations. The objective is to ensure consistent organization and structure within a series of international competitions linked together, providing opportunities for senior-level skaters to compete at the international level and also earn ISU World Standing points.[11] The Denis Ten Memorial Challenge has been a Challenger Series event every year since. The 2025 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge is scheduled to take place 1–4 October in Astana.[12]
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Kazakhstan
