Chen wins title at Skate America

American skater Nathan Chen locked up a spot in his second consecutive Grand Prix Final, winning the men’s competition at Skate America in Lake Placid, N.Y., despite a disappointing free skate.

Countryman Adam Rippon finished second and also qualified despite falling and dislocating his right shoulder on his first jump.

Chen struggled on a few of his five quad jump attempts, including a fall on a quad flip early in the program. The 18-year-old emerging star was second behind Rippon in the free skate with 171.76 points and won with a two-day total of 275.88.

Japan’s Satoko Miyahara topped the women’s short program — a promising sign for the 19-year-old Olympic hopeful after a hip injury this year.

The three-time national champion missed Four Continents and worlds because of her hip and then finished fifth in the Grand Prix event in Japan. Her score of 70.72 beat out Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto at 69.40 and Canada’s Gabrielle Daleman at 68.08.

American Bradie Tennell is fourth at 67.01 in the 19-year-old’s Grand Prix debut. Ashley Wagner is sixth, and Karen Chen is ninth to round out U.S. skaters.

Germany’s Bruno Massot and Aliona Savchenko overcame Massot’s back injury to win the pairs competition, capping a week when Massot also overcame a major obstacle for competing at the Olympics in Pyeongchang.

The pair struggled Friday in the short program, with Massot falling on a triple salchow. He said Saturday he has a back injury, which he expects to bother him through the Olympics.

He pushed through in the free skate, and he and Savchenko produced a final score of 223.13. China’s Yu Xiaoyu and Zhang Hao were second at 219.20, and Canada’s Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford were third at 215.68.

From wire reports