Bio

About Denis Ten

1) Name: Denis Ten (English)
Денис Тен (Russian)
데니스 텐 (Korean)

2) Before Denis started skating, he enjoyed playing tennis. He has a great deal of interest in music and singing songs. He loves music so much that he once dreamed of becoming a musician. In 2002, Denis was a member of the Kazakhstani Choir, and his team placed second in the International Choir Olympics held in Busan, South Korea.

3) Denis speaks Russian and English

Family

1) Denis is one of the Korean expatriates living in Kazakhstan, descendants of people who fled Korea during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial period. He is a great-great-grandchild of Min Geung-ho (d. 1908), who led the Won-ju in fighting to stop the Japanese imperial army from interfering in Korea's domestic affairs.

2) Family Members: Mother (Oksana Ten), Father (Yuri Ten) , Older Brother (Alex Ten), Grandmother (Alexandra Min). Denis is close to his parents, especially his mother, who accompanies him to every competition.

Figure Skating

In 1998, Denis started skating at the Kiyal Almaty rink when he was just 6 years old.

In 2004, he moved to CSKA, Russia. He got down to his studies and skating there.

In 2008, he became the first Kazakhstani ever to win the Junior Grand Prix Golden Lynx held in Belarus. He visited Korea to compete at Junior Grand Prix Final. He was the first Kazakhstani ever to make it to the final.

In 2009, he made his senior debut at the Four Continents Championships in Vancouver, Canada. He Denis finished 8th at World Championships, earning Kazakhstan 2 spots at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

In 2010, he finished 11th at Vancouver Winter Games. He changed his coach, Frank Carroll, and his training place from Russia to USA.

In 2011, he won the gold medal in 7th Asian Winter Games.