Denis Ten Memorial Challenge
Denis Ten Memorial Challenge | |
---|---|
2025 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge | |
Organized by | Denis Ten Foundation |
The Denis Ten Memorial Challenge is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Denis Ten Foundation in Kazakhstan.[1] The competition debuted in 2019 and is named in honor of Denis Ten, a former Kazakh figure skater who won a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Denis Ten Memorial Challenge has been an ISU Challenger Series event every year since 2021. Medals may be awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance; and as part of the Challenger Series, skaters earn ISU World Standing points based on their results.
History

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 organized 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 of sorts, 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] The outpouring of condolences worldwide was enormous. 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.
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
Senior medalists
Men's singles
Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Almaty | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[8] |
2020 | Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | [9] | |||
2021 CS | Nur-Sultan
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[13] |
2022 CS | Almaty | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[14] |
2023 CS | Astana | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[15] |
2024 CS | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[16] |
Women's singles
Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Almaty | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[8] |
2020 | Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | [9] | |||
2021 CS | Nur-Sultan
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[13] |
2022 CS | Almaty | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[14] |
2023 CS | Astana | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[15] |
2024 CS | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[16] |
Pairs
Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Almaty | [8] | |||
2020 | Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | [9] | |||
2021 | Nur-Sultan
|
[13] | |||
2022–24 | No pairs competitions since 2021 |
Ice dance
Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Almaty | [8] | |||
2020 | Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | [9] | |||
2021 CS | Nur-Sultan
|
[13] | |||
2022 CS | Almaty | [14] | |||
2023 CS | Astana | [15] | |||
2024 CS | [16] |
Junior medalists
Men's singles
Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Almaty | ![]() |
![]() |
Mark Kondratyuk
|
[8] |
2020 | Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | [9] | |||
2021 | Nur-Sultan
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[13] |
2022 | Almaty | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[14] |
2023 | Astana | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[15] |
2024 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[16] |
Women's singles
Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Almaty | ![]() |
Maiia Khromykh
|
![]() |
[8] |
2020 | Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | [9] | |||
2021 | Nur-Sultan
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[13] |
2022 | Almaty | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[14] |
2023 | Astana | ![]() |
![]() |
[15] | |
2024 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
[16] |
Ice dance
Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Almaty | No junior ice dance competitors | [8] | ||
2020 | Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | [9] | |||
2021 | Nur-Sultan
|
[13] | |||
2022 | Almaty | No junior ice dance competitors | [14] | ||
2023 | Astana | [15] | |||
2024 | No junior ice dance competitors | [16] |
Cumulative medal count (senior medalists)
Men's singles
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
2 | ![]() | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
3 | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
4 | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
5 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Totals (5 entries) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
Women's singles
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
![]() | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
3 | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
4 | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
6 | ![]() | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
7 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
8 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Totals (9 entries) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
Pairs
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
2 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Totals (2 entries) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Ice dance
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
2 | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
3 | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
6 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
7 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
9 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Totals (11 entries) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
Total medals
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 5 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
2 | ![]() | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
3 | ![]() | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
4 | ![]() | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
5 | ![]() | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
6 | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
10 | ![]() | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
11 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
12 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
13 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
15 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Totals (17 entries) | 17 | 17 | 17 | 51 |
References
- ^ "Denis Ten Memorial Challenge 2019 – Announcement". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ Omarov, Ilyas (4 July 2013). "Astana Presidential Sports Club Launched". The Astana Times. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ^ Cloutier, Claire (2 August 2018). "Remembering Denis Ten, 1993–2018". A Divine Sport. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ Mather, Victor (19 July 2018). "Denis Ten, 25, Olympic Skating Medalist, Dies After Stabbing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- ^ "Tributes paid to Olympic medallist Ten following reports of fatal stabbing". AOL. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- ^ "Denis Ten: Olympic figure skater who won bronze stabbed to death". The Guardian. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- ^ a b Kozhanova, Nazira (10 October 2019). "Almaty to host Denis Ten Memorial Challenge". The Astana Times. Archived from the original on 19 January 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "2019 Denis Ten Memorial". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "CANCELLED – 2020 Denis Ten Memorial". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ "Communication No. 2390". International Skating Union. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "Challenger Series". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 March 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ "2025 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge". Golden Skate. Archived from the original on 23 May 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "2021 Denis Ten Memorial CS". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f "2022 Denis Ten Memorial CS". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f "2023 Denis Ten Memorial". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f "2024 Denis Ten Memorial". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
External links
- Denis Ten Memorial Challenge at Skating Scores
- Denis Ten Foundation