I travelled to London, Ontario Canada in 2013 for the World Championships. In the morning of the men's long, I vividly remember crossing a main street and walking opposite me was Denis Ten. Of course he was oblivious to me. But I did observe him for a few seconds as we were nearing each other. I still recall that huge smile he had on his face while he was carrying a baguette. He was trying to shout something to (whom I presumed was) his mother who was also smiling and was already waiting for him on the other side of the street. It was very obvious to me that this guy had so much joy and love overflowing from within. And then, that night, I saw him perform the skate of his life to the music of The Artist. Many felt he should've won gold, that he should've been the world champion... He shouldn't have been killed. He had so much more life to live. More happiness and beauty to share with others. But this world is crazy and dark, and it allowed death to snatch away his life like a thief in the night.

Over 2 car mirrors and a legend is gone. I hope "Denis and Friends" continues for many years afrer his passing.

I was shocked when I read the news headline. I loved Denis's skating. When he was on point, his skating was just gorgeous. A tragedy to lose such a talented man so young, and in such a brutal senseless crime.

nobody else i've ever seen has skated quite the same way he did. he had such a unique style and had the skill to bring out the best in his choreography. he had a connection to the music that many others haven't achieved. i've cried a lot the past few days and while i've come to terms with his death now, the world of figure skating will never be the same without him. even now i just think about how much more he could have done if he'd had the time. he was so full of promise, not just with his ice show but with his photography, his singing, his education, his charisma. i'm still watching the video, but have you seen miki ando's tribute to him on twitter? absolutely beautiful, i could hardly see through my tears while i watched it. it's a little comforting to know that he's loved and missed by so many people.

So very sad and senseless. I really hope the people who did this are brought to justice soon.

Thanks for honoring Denis. Nice tribute, guys.

A very sad week for figure skating..RIP Denis and ty for remembering him.

Misha Ge tweeted he's going to do something about all the ideas Denis had for the future. It looks Misha knows and only needs agreement.

I think the story of Denis Ten's death is rather full. From what I heard, he was in a restaurant of his friend, when he left he saw people who were trying to steal mirrors off his car, he wanted to stop them, they had a knife (as a tool for removing the mirrors), there was a fight, Ten was stabbed and his femoral artery was cut, so before the ambulance arrived he lost too much blood (about 3 liters). In the hospital they tried to reanimate him for 2 hours, but the situation was too serious, and he passed. It's senseless and hard to believe because he was so young and a celebrity, yes, but it's coherent. There are witnesses. Two people are already arrested and confessed. One says he did not participate in the fight, but was only watching. They say they didn't want to kill anyone, needed money, and didn't know who he was and they knew only at interogation. Some sources write they actually cried when they knew. Also, I don't think it's fair to compare the camp change of Volosozhar to a potential camp change of a single skater. She's a pair skater, Trankov skated for Russia, so it wasn't only her choice, which country to represent, and objectively Russia had stronger resources in pair skating, so why wouldn't she choose a more promising option? Savchenko kinda did the same. Time showed they both made the right choice (also, just read that Savchenko attempted to compete in a pair with a Russian, between Morozov and Szolkowy, and he was ready to move to Kiyv, but the Ukrainian Federation refused to finance them. She then moved to Germany. So here you go. There are different factors at play). And I don't think there were single skaters from former Soviet republics who switched to Russia. Anyway, Ten's passing is the saddest. It's horrifying how life can be finished so suddenly and in such circumstances. Hard to accept.

This was very very sad. I loved Denis and rooted for him for so long. The world lost a legend. Thank you for this post guys. btw, I think the reason why Yuri on Ice focuses on GPF is because the broadcasting company that airs this show, TV Asahi, usually has the broadcasting rights for the grand prix series every year (except for NHK obviously). Fuji TV usually has that of Nationals, 4CC and Worlds.

Very sad RIP Denis he inspired me at Sochi for several reasons...

I saw a Korean documentary, and it showed a full body CT scan of Denis. The doctor pointed out a rather severe imbalance in the hip area. He said that Denis had to endure moderate to severe pain for at least 5 years. This would explain his lack of consistency and the fact we never got to see his full potential.

Terrible and senseless loss. I'm glad you guys posted something about it. PS: Jonathan's audio is always less than ok. His volume is always higher than David's and I'm constantly trying to adjust, and sometimes I can't understand everything he says. Today it is particularly terrible. PLEASE, Jonathan, use some headphones!! We love your commentary, and we want to hear it! :-)

Jonathan's audio is distorted it hurts my ears, this happened in Meagan's ep too. Try using a software that adjusts audio from clipping.

So sad! So senseless! It's so hard to deal with all these terrible things going on in the world!! 😢

Produce it guys! Love the idea. ;-)

I still miss Denis.. He is the best beautiful skater for me forever.. Rest in peace...

R.I.P. Nazarbayev is personally guilty of this murder.

and third so sad to be watching this :(

Who would dislike this video...wtf?! Such a terrible act of senseless violence, the world can be such a messed up place..

OMG I have the VHS tape from 96! Peggy says re: Midori Ito "she's become a much better artist, I definitely see the improvement from her time as a professional" Dick replies "Peggy will you marry me?!" Peggy: "oh you're a few years too late for that ha ha" in reality Peggy was like "Dude you're not out yet? C'mon Mary, you ain't foolin' no one."

I don't want to be rude but the audio is so bad it's really hard to listen

BTW, yiu two are the only ones who'd interview Tonya about her skating. So, work on that. Lol.

Yessssss Dave I can watch 98-00 world particularly the ladies lol when that melatonin kicks in lol...

I'm already over skaters hiding behind Whitney's big vocals. The allowance of lyrics in skating is not always a good thing.

RIP. Always like watching the skaters rise from non-powerhouse countries like Javier, the girl from Australia (Kayla?) and Denis. Strange to think if his schedule that day had been one minute different then we don’t have this senseless tragedy over car mirrors.

You would think that the two most critical people that always have a hard time wrapping their minds around other peoples gratuitous shortcomings would have been able to troubleshoot and figure out a way to fix Jonathan’s audio feed.

Jonathan's audio is terrible!

i think you are miss understanding the whole yuri on ice topic and denis. kubo is not that interested in yuzu and she was a huge tatsuki fan. i think denis was having fun being characterize in yuri and kubo and yamamoto had love and respect toward denis. or am i miss understanding the whole topic here.

96 Worlds was my favorite. I HAD that tape but lost that and all skating tapes in a hose fire.Michelle Kwan’s Romanza and Salome. Lu Chen’s artistry. Toddsy wngthe men’s, Rudy, Meno and Sands Nessun Dorma, Illia’s Aladdin. Irina in feathers. Bute’s Madonna,

Still cannot believe about Denis. It still hasn’t hit me yet. Loved the New Jersey references. My mom is from Kearny. I noticed the exact same thing about Harrison when I went down to visit last year. . Some parts are totally gentrified. Due to the soccer stadium. However others still have the old Jersey factory feel.

Dave, I was at Tara Modlin's show. I agree with your assessment of Karen, Mirai and Alysa. I did enjoy Starr's "Summertime" - she looks more mature and I liked the choreo - better than the Whitney karaoke from last season.

Dave makes a pertinent point. Skaters who set up Go Fund Me pages, receive donations for the coming season to cover training costs, then split up.... Where's the financial morality?

The footage you are talking about was not filmed in Hackensack it was filmed in Weehaken and I think at the swanky Avenue Collection condos. RIP Denis.

when you were talking about Karen going back to Tammy I had a flashback of Sasha saying "If you do what you've always done you'll get what you've always gotten" haha oh memories!

You hit a good point. We need pro skating back. I

I think there's less mystery about Denis's life and passing than you made it sound, lots of info is just not in English. Some stories inflated by media do sound ridiculous but it's media's doing. He was a very bright skater, these news are so so hard to accept. Such a massive loss for Kazakhstan. RIP Denis.

This is making my ears bleed :/

Sorry Men bad audio.

Who is coaching Gracie?

What are those KZfaq stations again? Denis' LP from Sochi is blocked.

Gracie is being pushed because US skating don't really have a poster child. She brings in funding that the other skaters can't. Ashley isn't there, Marai's sympathy card is absent and Bradie and Karen and Mariah are not big drawcards given Bradie is boring and yet to win anything international and Karen and Mariah are inconsistent and Starr is yet to prove herself. Even in the men's side they've lost their biggest character (even if Nathan is the best Adam still brings in a lot of viewers) and their ice dancer field is also a bit depleted.

First!