Olympic figure-skating medallist Denis Ten killed

MOSCOW — Olympic figureskating medallist Denis Ten was killed on Thursday, and prosecutors in Kazakhstan said they were treating the case as murder.

Ten was stabbed after a dispute with people who allegedly tried to steal a mirror from his car in his home city of Almaty, Kazakh news agencies reported. Doctors in Almaty say the 25-year-old skater died in the hospital there.

Born in Kazakhstan to a family of Korean descent, Ten’s bronze at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014 made him Kazakhstan’s first medallist in figure skating.

Canadian skater Patrick Chan, who won silver in the same competition, said on Twitter he was “honoured and grateful to have shared the ice” with Ten. “One of the most beautiful skaters to have graced our sport. My thoughts are with his family during this unimaginable time.”

Other Canadians offered their condolences on Twitter.

“So sad to hear of Denis Ten’s tragic passing. He was as kind as he was talented,” posted ice dance star Scott Moir. “It was an honour to share the ice with him. You will be greatly missed, Denis.”

Added four-time world champion Kurt Browning: “With the loss of Denis Ten the skating world lost one of our future leaders. Having recently worked with him, I was in awe of his vision and love for the world.”

The International Skating Union said it was “deeply saddened” by news of Ten’s death.

“His shining achievements brought glory to our country and helped popularize sport among young people,” Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

Ten struggled with injuries in recent years and could manage only 27th at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February.

In recent months he’d often spoken of his studies in economics and his plans to write a movie script.