Denis Ten

Template:Eastern Slavic name Template:Infobox figure skater Denis Yuryevich Ten (Template:Lang; born 13 June 1993) is a Kazakhstani figure skater. He is the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time World medalist (silver in 2013, bronze in 2015), the 2015 Four Continents champion, the 2017 Winter Universiade champion, and a five-time national champion of Kazakhstan.

Ten is the first skater from Kazakhstan to stand on the podium at the World Championships, Four Continents Championships, Asian Winter Games, and Olympic Games. At the 2008–09 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Belarus, he became the first skater from Kazakhstan to win an International Skating Union competition. His other accomplishments include qualifying two spots for his country in the men's event at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.

Ten was the official ambassador for the Olympic Bidding Committee "Almaty 2022". He is a member of the Astana Presidential Sports Club and the Political Party "Nur Otan". In 2013, he began producing his own ice show, "Denis Ten and Friends". In summer 2014, he announced his co-operation with All That Sports management company established by Kim Yuna.

Personal life

Denis Ten was born on 13 June 1993 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He is a member of the Korean minority in Kazakhstan. His great-great-grandfather, Min Geung-ho, was a famous Korean independence fighter general during the time of the Korean Empire when Korea fought for independence from Japan.

Ten attended music school for five years and competed as part of a choir. In 2002, his team won the silver medal at the World Choir Games, held in Busan, South Korea. This was Ten's first trip to that country. He also tried taekwando, karate, tennis, swimming and acrobatics.

Ten moved with his mother to Moscow, Russia in 2004 while his father and older brother, Alexei, remained in Kazakhstan. Ten already knew Russian — it is co-official in Kazakhstan and Ten's first language. In 2010, he moved with his mother to California.

In May 2014, Ten graduated from the Kazakh Academy of Sports and Tourism with a Red Diploma.Template:Citation needed He currently works on his MBA program (Oil and Gas) at the Business School of the Kazakh-British Technical University.

In July 2015, the media reported on Ten's interest in photography. He has a separate social media page, where he posts the photos he takes. Celebrities who have modeled for or collaborated with him include Dinara Baktybayeva, Aissulu Azimbayeva, Aliya Telebarisova (Kazakhstani actresses), Sabina Altynbekova, and Serik Sapiyev.

Career

Early career

Ten began skating at an open-air rink in Almaty in winter and later practiced at an indoor rink in a shopping mall. In 2003, he traveled to Omsk in southwest Siberia, Russia, for a skating competition which he won. The head judge, Alexander Kogan, invited him to another competition in Odintsovo, Moscow region, where Ten met coach Elena Buianova (Vodorezova). Ten began training camps with her at CSKA Moscow and was later invited to join her group full-time.

2006–07 season

Ten began competing internationally in the 2006–07 season at the age of 13, which was the first year he was age-eligible for International Skating Union (ISU) junior-level competition. On October 5, 2006, he debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) at the 2006–07 JGP event in The Hague, Netherlands. Ten placed 14th in the short program and 7th in the free skate to place 10th overall. In November, he competed at the 2006 Coupe Internationale de Nice in Nice, France on the novice level. He won the event by 4.18 ahead of silver medalist Artur Gachinski.

In February 2007, Ten competed at the Dragon Trophy in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He won the junior men's event by 34.36 points over silver medalist Jason Thompson. Later that month, Ten competed at the 2007 World Junior Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. He placed 26th in the short program and did not advance to the free skating portion of the event. He had placed 0.44 points below the final qualifier. Ten finished the season at the Haabersti Cup in Tallinn, Estonia, where he won the junior men's event by 16.34 points ahead of silver medalist Viktor Romanenkov.

2007–08 season

Ten began the 2007–08 season on the 2007–08 JGP circuit. In September 2007, he competed at the JGP event in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania. He placed 3rd in the short program, 2.42 behind second-place finisher Ivan Bariev and 2.22 ahead of fourth-place finisher Andrew Lum. In the free skate, Ten placed 6th, and finished the event in 6th place overall, 5.09 points behind bronze medalist Takahito Mura. At Ten's second event two weeks later in Tallinn, he placed 10th in the short program and 10th in the free skate to place 10th overall. He finished the ISU Junior Grand Prix in 31st place to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final.

In November, Ten competed at the NRW Trophy on the junior level. He won both segments of the competition to win the gold medal by 22.59 points over silver medalist Gordei Gorshkov.

In February 2008, Ten competed at the 2008 World Junior Championships. He placed 8th in the short program, 3.36 points behind third-place finisher Brandon Mroz and 9.35 points behind first-place finisher Adam Rippon. In the short program, Ten was credited with a triple lutz–triple toe loop combination and received a level 4 on his change foot combination spin. In the free skate, Ten placed 19th after falling twice, once on a triple axel attempt, and the second time on his triple lutz. However, he was credited with rotating the triple axel. He placed 16th overall. Because of his placement at the World Junior Championships, Ten earned Kazakhstan the right to send one men's entry to every JGP event for the following season.

2008–09 season

File:Denis TEN Four Continents Championships 2009.jpg

Ten at the 2009 Four Continents.

Ten began the 2008–09 season competing in the 2008–09 JGP. At his first event in Courchevel, France, he placed 5th in the short program and in the free skate to place 4th overall, placing 7.82 behind bronze medalist Florent Amodio. In his free skate, Ten landed a clean triple axel. By placing 4th in his first event, Ten entered into contention to potentially qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final. A month later, Ten competed at his second JGP event, the event in Gomel, Belarus. In the short program, Ten landed four triples, including a triple axel, to win the short program by a 5.19 point margin of victory over second-place finisher Stanislav Kovalev. In the free skate, Ten landed six triple jumps to place 2nd in that segment of the competition by 3.88 points behind Yang Chao. Ten won the competition by 4.60 total points ahead of silver medalist Yang. By winning this competition, Ten simultaneously became the first skater from Kazakhstan to medal at an ISU competition and to win an ISU competition.Template:Citation needed Following the eighth and final Junior Grand Prix event, Ten became the first skater from Kazakhstan to qualify for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, for which he was the seventh qualifier.Template:Citation needed

Ten was originally scheduled to make his senior international debut at the 2008 Ondrej Nepela Memorial in late November 2008. However, he officially withdrew following the short program draw and did not compete.Template:Citation needed

Later, Ten mentioned in the interviews that he had landed the quad jump at the end of 2008 but an injury forced him to scale down training of the jump.

Ten competed at the 2008–09 JGP Final in Seoul, South Korea, in December 2008. In the short program, he landed a triple axel, but fell on his combination jump and did not complete the combination to place 7th in that segment of the competition. In the free skating segment, Ten landed a triple axel-double toe loop combination and six other triple jumps to place 3rd in that segment of the competition. He placed 5th overall, 0.31 points behind 4th-place finisher Ivan Bariev, and 3.59 points behind bronze medalist Richard Dornbush.

In February 2009, Ten made his senior international debut at the 2009 Four Continents in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the age of 15, the first year for which he was age-eligible for senior ISU championships. He placed 10th in the short program after landing a triple axel and a triple lutz, but missing his triple flip combination. He placed 8th in the free skate after landing six triples, including a triple axel-triple toe loop combination, but popping a solo triple axel and a triple flip. He placed 9th overall.

Two weeks later, Ten competed at the 2009 Junior Worlds. He placed 5th in the short program after being downgraded on the second jump in his triple-triple combination. In the free skate, Ten was credited with six triple jumps, including two triple axels, and received another downgrade on the second jump of his triple-triple combination. He placed 4th in that segment of the competition, placing 0.32 points behind third-place finisher Artem Grigoriev in that segment of the competition. Ten placed 4th overall, ending the competition 0.63 points behind bronze medalist Grigoriev.

Ten finished the season at the 2009 World Championships, where he was the youngest male skater at the competition. He placed 17th in the short program after being credited with four triples, including his triple axel and triple-triple combination. In the free skate, Ten was credited with eight triple jumps, the maximum number of triple jumps allowed, to place 6th in that segment of the competition. He placed 8th overall and qualified two spots for Kazakhstan to the Olympics for the first time in history.

2009–10 season

Ten won the 2009 Golden Spin of Zagreb and placed fourth overall in the 2009 NRW Trophy. After he made his Senior debut in the 2009–10 Grand Prix series, where he was assigned to the 2009 Cup of China and the 2009 Skate Canada International. He placed tenth at the 2009 Cup of China with 182.63 points and seventh at the 2009 Skate Canada scoring 193.33 overall.

At the 2010 Four Continents, he earned 70.50 points in the short program, where he placed fourth. He came in fourteenth position in the free skate scoring 102.15 after falling on two of his jumps. He finished tenth with a combined score of 172.65 points.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Ten received a score of 76.24 points in the short program, placing tenth. He was fourteenth in the free skate with 135.01 points to finish eleventh overall with a total score of 211.25.

At the 2010 World Championships, Ten was in ninth place after the short program and placed fifteenth in the free skate with a score of 125.06 points. He finished 13th with 202.46 points overall. Following the World Championship, he announced a coaching change to Frank Carroll and relocated with his mother to California. Ten also works with Rafael Arutyunyan.

2010–11 season

During the 2010–11 Grand Prix season, Ten competed at the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Skate America. At NHK, he placed 6th in the short program but his long program saw him fall to 11th overall. At Skate America, he also placed sixth in the short program but dropped to 12th overall after the long program.

Ten won the gold medal at the 2011 Asian Winter Games with a first place in the short program and third in the long.

2011–12 season

Ten was assigned to 2011 Skate America and 2011 Skate Canada International. He placed 5th in both events. At the 2012 Worlds in Nice, France, Ten finished 7th, his best result at a World Championships until this season.

2012–13 season

Ten placed 6th at 2012 Skate Canada International, 9th at 2012 Rostelecom Cup and 12th at the 2013 Four Continents Championships. Later he explained that he had a series of injuries during the earlier part of the season, which prevented him from performing to his capacity.

At the 2013 World Championships, he scored a personal best of 91.56 points in the short program — second only to Patrick Chan — and received a small silver medal for the segment. Another personal best, 174.92 points, saw him place first in the long program and win a small gold medal. Overall, Ten won the silver medal with a total score of 266.48 points — just 1.3 points less than Chan. He became the first person from Kazakhstan to stand on a World podium in figure skating.

In June 2013, Carroll and Ten moved to the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California.

2013–14 season

Ten withdrew from his first 2013–14 Grand Prix assignment, the 2013 Skate America, due to an infection causing black spots on his ankles and an infection in his jaw. He competed at the 2013 Cup of China and placed fourth.

In February 2014, Ten competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He placed ninth in the short program, third in the free skate, and won the bronze medal — it was the first ever Olympic medal for Kazakhstan in figure skating. He wore unmatched boots after having tried six pairs. Ten was named Breakthrough of the Year by the Agency of Sport and Physical Education of Kazakhstan and awarded a car by the mayor of Almaty. He did not participate in the 2014 World Championships.

During the summer, Ten's ice show Olympic Energy brought international skaters, including twelve Olympic medalists, to Kazakhstan, with the proceeds supporting the sport's development in the country and the treatment of a child with neuroleukemia.

2014–15 season

For the 2014–15 season, Ten was assigned to the 2014 Skate America and 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard. At the Skate America event, he fell on the opening quadruple jumps in both the short program and the free skating, and earned fourth. At the Trophée Éric Bompard competition, he placed first in the short program, then won bronze after the free skating. In December, at the 2014 Golden Spin of Zagreb event, he won gold.

At the 2015 Four Continents Championships in Seoul, Korea, Ten set personal best scores of 97.61 and 191.85 points in the short program and free skating, respectively. He placed first in both segments of the competition and won the title with total points of 289.46, the third highest score at an ISU championship.

At the 2015 World Championships, Ten was in third place after the short program and first in the free skate. He won the bronze medal.

2015–16 season

For the 2015–16 season, Ten was assigned to the 2015 Skate America and 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard. Ten planned to start the season at the 2015 Skate Canada Autumn Classic, but had to withdraw due to an injury. With the lower back and hip injury, he placed 9th at the 2015 Skate America. At the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard, he placed 4th at the short program segment of the competition, but the event got cancelled after the first day.

Ten withdrew from the 2016 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, again due to an injury. After that, he placed 2nd at the 2016 Coupe du Printemps competition with a new free skating program, Romeo and Juliet. At the competition, he tried the quad salchow jump in his free skating, but it was not successful.

Skating style

He has a charismatic presence on the ice, which is noted by skating critiques.

Programs

File:Denis Ten at the 2010 Olympics.jpg

Ten at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2016–2017	Romeo and Juliet Template:Small	Tosca Template:Small	Lose Yourself (Remix) Template:Small
2015–2016	Misa Tango Template:Small	Romeo and Juliet Template:Small Misa Tango Template:Small	Made to Love Template:Small Lose Yourself (Remix) Template:Small
2014–2015	Caruso Template:Small	Ambush from Ten Sides for Pipa, Sheng, Guitar, Cello and Orchestra Template:Small Vocussion Template:Small	Mi Mancherai Template:Small Money on My Mind Template:Small
2013–2014	Danse Macabre Template:Small	The Lady and the Hooligan Template:Small	Money on My Mind Template:Small Mi Mancherai Template:Small
2012–2013	The Artist Template:Small The Artist Overture Waltz for Peppy The Sound of Tears L'ombre des larmes Template:Small	The Artist Template:Small Happy Ending George Valentin Happy Ending My Suicide Peppy and George Template:Small	Singin' in the Rain Template:Small
2011–2012	Elegie Op. 3 No. 1 Template:Small	Adios Nonino Template:Small	Per Te Template:Small Cinema Paradiso Template:Small
2010–2011	Primavera Porteño Template:Small	Totentanz Template:Small
2009–2010	Sing, Sing, Sing Template:Small	Pasodoble Concierto de Aranjuez Template:Small	You Are Not Alone Black Or White Template:Small
2008–2009	Flamenco Once Upon a Time in Mexico Template:Small	Piano Concerto No. 2 Template:Small	You Are Not Alone Black Or White Template:Small Swan Lake Techno Music
2007–2008	Flamenco Once Upon a Time in Mexico Template:Small	Peer Gynt Suite Template:Small
2006–2007	Fantasy on the theme of Faust Template:Small	The Mask Template:Small Moonlight Serenade Template:Small Chattanooga Choo Choo Summertime Template:Small

Competitive highlights

File:2013 World Championships Men Podium.jpg

Ten on the 2013 World Championships podium

File:Призеры по фигурному катанию.JPG

Ten on the 2014 Winter Olympics podium

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International
Event	04–05	05–06	06–07	07–08	08–09	09–10	10–11	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15	15–16	16–17
Olympics						11th				3rd
Worlds					8th	13th	14th	7th	2nd		3rd	11th	16th
Four Continents					9th	10th		6th	12th	4th	1st	WD	WD
Template:Small Cup of China						10th				4th
Template:Small NHK Trophy							12th
Template:Small Rostel. Cup									9th
Template:Small Skate America							11th	5th		WD	4th	9th	WD
Template:Small Skate Canada						7th		5th	6th
Template:Small Trophée											3rd	4th	2nd
Template:Small Golden Spin						1st		2nd			1st	1st	WD
Template:Small Nebelhorn											WD
Asian Games							1st						10th
Ice Challenge										1st
Istanbul Cup								1st
Merano Cup										1st
Nebelhorn Trophy								9th	7th
NRW Trophy						4th						2nd
Printemps												2nd
Autumn Classic												WD
Volvo Open Cup									1st
Universiade										WD			1st
International: Junior
Junior Worlds			26th	16th	4th	9th		4th
Template:Small Final					5th
Template:Small Belarus					1st
Template:Small Estonia				10th
Template:Small France					4th
Template:Small Netherlands			10th
Template:Small Romania				6th
Nestle Cup							1st J
NRW Trophy				1st J
Seibt Memorial				1st J
Haabersti Cup			1st J
Dragon Trophy			1st J
Cup of Nice			1st N
National
Kazakhstani	4th	1st	2nd			1st		1st	1st	1st
Team events
Team Challenge Cup												3rd T 7th P
Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior TBD = Assigned, WD = Withdrew T = Team result; P = Personal result. Medals awarded for team result only.

Detailed results

2016–17 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 29–April 2, 2017	2017 World Figure Skating Championships	9 90.18	20 144.13	16 234.31
February 23–26, 2017	2017 Asian Winter Games	9 72.98	13 125.90	10 198.88
February 1–5, 2017	2017 Winter Universiade	1 94.91	1 172.06	1 266.97
November 11–13, 2016	2016 Trophée de France	3 89.21	3 180.05	2 269.26
2015–16 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 28 – April 3, 2016	2016 World Championships	12 78.55	12 151.58	11 230.13
March 11–13, 2016	2016 Coupe du Printemps	1 86.95	2 133.09	2 220.04
December 3–5, 2015	2015 Golden Spin of Zagreb	1 94.03	1 182.36	1 276.39
November 24–29, 2015	2015 NRW Trophy	3 82.63	2 159.28	2 241.91
November 13–15, 2015	2015 Trophée Éric Bompard	4 80.10	cancelled
October 23–25, 2015	2015 Skate America	6 79.02	11 122.50	9 201.52
2014–15 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 23–29, 2015	2015 World Championships	3 85.89	1 181.83	3 267.72
February 9–15, 2015	2015 Four Continents Championships	1 97.61	1 191.85	1 289.46
December 4–7, 2014	2014 Golden Spin of Zagreb	1 92.50	2 157.43	1 249.94
November 21–23, 2014	2014 Trophée Éric Bompard	1 91.78	5 144.50	3 236.28
October 24–26, 2014	2014 Skate America	4 77.18	4 147.56	4 224.74
2013–14 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
February 6–22, 2014	2014 Winter Olympics	9 84.06	3 171.04	3 255.10
January 20–25, 2014	2014 Four Continents Championships	5 76.34	4 150.03	4 226.37
November 19–24, 2013	2013 Ice Challenge	1 88.19	1 173.19	1 261.38
November 14–17, 2013	2013 Merano Cup	1 82.21	2 148.91	1 231.12
November 1–3, 2013	2013 Cup of China	4 77.05	3 147.75	4 224.80
2012–13 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 10–17, 2013	2013 World Championships	2 91.56	1 174.92	2 266.48
February 6–11, 2013	2013 Four Continents Championships	7 78.05	17 119.21	12 197.26
January 1–10, 2013	20th Volvo Open Cup	1 79.21	2 125.12	1 204.33
November 9–11, 2012	2012 Rostelecom Cup	9 59.42	9 118.35	9 177.77
October 26–28, 2012	2012 Skate Canada International	4 75.26	8 128.44	6 203.70
September 27–29, 2012	2012 Nebelhorn Trophy	4 67.88	8 130.51	7 198.39
2011–12 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 26 – April 1, 2012	2012 World Championships	8 76.00	6 153.70	7 229.70

External links

• Template:Isu name

Template:NavigationFourContinentChampionsFigureSkatingMen Template:Astana Presidential Sports Club