Dikidzhi leads the podiums at the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge 2026 in Almaty
News — 11 October 2026
The Denis Ten Memorial Challenge 2026, the eighth event of the ISU Challenger Series, was held from 7 to 11 October at the Halyk Arena in Almaty (Kazakhstan), with titles decided in men’s, women’s and ice dance: Dikidzhi (312.79 points), Ignatova (226.01) and the Finnish duo Turkkila/Versluis (191.32) took the gold.
The Almaty podiums
In the men’s event, Dikidzhi won with 312.79 points, ahead of Lutfullin (277.23) and Gumennik (261.76). In the women’s event, Ignatova prevailed with 226.01 points, followed by Kim (209.20) and Samodelkina (204.36), who took the bronze in front of the home Kazakh crowd. In ice dance, the Finnish pair Turkkila/Versluis completed the golden podium with 191.32 points.
A competition in memory of Denis Ten
The competition is named after Denis Ten, the Kazakh skater, 2013 world champion and bronze medallist at Sochi 2014, who died in 2018. His memorial has become a fixture of the international calendar and, in this edition, part of the ISU Challenger Series 2026/27.
The ice behind the results
Behind every score lie hours of work on a well-maintained real-ice rink: a smooth, level surface, reliable refrigeration and constant maintenance. Napapiri designs, manufactures, rents and sells real-ice rinks since 1993 for event organizers, municipalities and sports and leisure facilities worldwide; quotation within 24 hours at napapiri.com.
Photo: facade of the Halyk Arena in Almaty (Kazakhstan), venue of the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge 2026. Photograph by Mazur Vlad (Мазур Влад), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Archive photo (winter 2019); it does not show the 2026 competition or a Napapiri installation.
Sources
- Official results of the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge 2026 (denistenmemorial.kz), consulted on 11 October 2026.
