A sad, untimely farewell to Denis Ten, iconic as "The Artist" on ice

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A sad, untimely farewell to Denis Ten, iconic as "The Artist" on ice

Canadian choreographer David Wilson was surprised and delighted when he got an “out-of-the-blue” email last week from Kazakh figure skater Denis Ten.

In the email, Ten asked if Wilson would help rework the free skate the choreographer had done for him last season so the program would fit the new time limit, 30 seconds shorter.

Wilson was surprised because he did not think Ten was going to compete next season after enduring another difficult struggle with chronic foot problems.

And Wilson was delighted because it would give Ten another opportunity to show the world a beautiful program to a song called, “SOS from An Earthling in Distress,” that the injuries had kept him from performing the way the skater and choreographer hoped.

“I was really touched Denis wanted to keep this program and thrilled that he was going to have another chance with it,” Wilson said from Toronto Thursday morning.  “Now it is gone.”

Ten, 25, died Thursday after what Kazakh media reported was an altercation with two people trying to steal mirrors from his car on a street in Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan.

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On Karen Chen's first Olympics and Frank Carroll's last

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On Karen Chen's first Olympics and Frank Carroll's last

Frank Carroll's 12th and final Olympics as a coach ended a day earlier than expected.

Although the premature finish owed to the misfortune of his last Olympic student, Denis Ten of Kazakhstan, it turned out to be advantageous for Carroll, 79, who left for home in Southern California on Saturday, the day after Ten failed to qualify for the free skate.

"I'm sick as a dog," Carroll wrote in a text message Sunday, calling his illness "cold-like but getting worse."

Ten, the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist and two-time world medalist, placed 27th of 30 in Friday's short program. Only the top 24 made Saturday's free skate.

His poor performance was not a surprise, given the foot problems that have plagued Ten since the 2015-16 season and were exacerbated by a severe ankle injury suffered last August. Ten, 24, said Friday it was painful even to put on skating boots.

"It has been incredible," Carroll said of his Olympic coaching career.

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Irony in Hanyu-Ten practice incident at world skating

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Irony in Hanyu-Ten practice incident at world skating

BOSTON - There is some degree of irony in the flap over a near collision between Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu and Kazakhstan’s Denis Ten during a Wednesday morning practice session before the men’s short program at the World Figure Skating Championships.

The Toronto Cricket Club rink where Hanyu trains much of the year usually has a dozen or more skaters on a practice session, often including three of the top men in the world.  Athletes who train there say dealing with such crowds helps them avoid problems when they are in smaller groups at competitions.

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Worlds three-peat for U.S. men skaters? It doesn't figure

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Worlds three-peat for U.S. men skaters? It doesn't figure

After two busy weeks on the figure skating scene, including the U.S., Canadian and European Championships and the news of a season-ending injury for U.S. phenom Nathan Chen, let’s catch our breath for a look of what it all means to U.S. singles skaters as they look toward the 2016 World Championships.

Today, a look at the men’s situation.  Tomorrow, the women.

*The loss of Chen to a hip avulsion fracture that required surgery will have minimal impact on the United States’ slim-to-no chance of keeping its three men’s spots for the 2017 World Figure Skating Championships.

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