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Athletes mourn Olympic figure skater who died from knife attack during robbery

Figure skater Denis Ten, who won bronze in Sochi in 2014, died after being stabbed during a robbery in his native Kazakhstan.
/ Source: TODAY

The Olympic figure skating community is mourning the tragic death of 2014 bronze medalist Denis Ten, who police said died from stab wounds suffered in a robbery attempt in his native country of Kazakhstan on Thursday.

Four years ago, Ten became the first Olympic figure skating medalist in the country's history, Kazakh news agency Kazinform reported. He was 25.

Figure Skating - Winter Olympics Day 7
Olympic figure skater Denis Ten of Kazakhstan has died at 25 from stab wounds suffered in a robbery attempt.Maddie Meyer / Getty Images

"Completely devastated by the passing of Denis Ten,'' NBC analyst and two-time Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir tweeted. "He was as bright and kind as he was talented. This is such an incredible loss and tragedy."

Ten was reportedly stabbed in the thigh by two unknown thieves trying to steal mirrors off his car in the city of Almaty. He died three hours later after being rushed to the hospital, according to a Facebook post by the Kazakh minister for culture and sports.

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Ten won bronze for Kazakhstan in men's figure skating the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Clive Mason / Getty Images

Figure skating luminaries, Olympic officials and Ten's former training partners expressed their condolences on social media after news his death began to spread.

Ten was a figure skating pioneer in Kazakhstan. He was the country's first skater to medal in the world championship, winning silver in 2013 and bronze in 2015.

He also finished 11th in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and competed in this year's Winter Games in Pyeongchang, finishing 27th.

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