ASSAGO, Italy – Nathan Chen completed six quadruples and bettered his Olympic free skate score to win the world figure skating title on Saturday.
The 18-year-old American was the only competitor in the last group not to fall.
Japan’s Shoma Uno won silver despite three spectacular falls, matching his silver at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Russian Mikhail Kolyada fell twice but still won the bronze.
Chen, the first U.S. world men’s champion since Evan Lysacek in 2009, did a fist pump when he completed the program to score 219.46 in the free for an overall total of 321.40, nearly 50 points more than Uno. While a disastrous short program at the Olympics kept Chen from medaling, the 18-year-old skater won the short program in Italy, giving him an advantage that he fully leveraged.
Astonishingly, Chen was the only skater in the last group not to fall, with the chaotic programs by his rivals reflecting a long skating season which started back in September, and the pressure of turning around quickly for a major international championship.
Teammate Vincent Zhou fell three times in the final skate, tumbling to 14th place after a strong short program had put him within striking distance of the podium. But Max Aaron’s 11th -place finish means that the U.S. men’s team retains three spots for next year’s worlds in Japan.
