Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Sport

Two men jailed for murder of Kazakh Olympic skating medallist

FILE PHOTO: Figure Skating - ISU Grand Prix Rostelecom Cup 2017 - Men's Short Program - Moscow, Russia - October 20, 2017 - Denis Ten of Kazakhstan competes. REUTERS/Alexander Fedorov/File Photo

ALMATY (Reuters) - Two men were jailed for 18 years in Kazakhstan on Thursday for the murder of Denis Ten, the country's first Olympic figure skating medallist, a court spokesman said.

Ten, 25, was stabbed in Almaty in July as he struggled with two men he had caught trying to steal the mirrors on his car, police said.

He won bronze in the men's figure skating at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, aged 20, and also won world championship silver in 2013 and bronze in 2015.

FILE PHOTO: Bronze medallist Kazakhstan's Denis Ten celebrates during the victory ceremony of the men's figure skating at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, February 15, 2014. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo

A court in Almaty found Arman Kudaybergenov guilty of murder, violent robbery and theft and Nural Kiyasov guilty of murder and violent robbery and sentenced both to 18 years in prison.

Female defendant Zhanar Tolybayeva was found guilty of theft and failing to report a crime, and sentenced to four years.

Ten finished 27th at last year's Pyeongchang Olympics after a build-up dogged by injury, but was cheered by local fans because of his Korean roots.

FILE PHOTO: Kazakhstan's Denis Ten competes during the figure skating men's free skating program at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, February 14, 2014. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo

(Ths story corrects the last paragraph to read "last year's Pyeongchang Olympics", not "this year's")

FILE PHOTO: Figure Skating - ISU Grand Prix Rostelecom Cup 2017 - Men's Free Skating - Moscow, Russia - October 21, 2017 - Denis Ten of Kazakhstan competes. REUTERS/Alexander Fedorov - UP1EDAL0WGDKX/File Photo

(Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.