Nathan Chen of the United States won the men's singles title at an International Skating Union (ISU) competition in Gangneung with a personal best score Sunday.
Chen received a total score of 307.46 points after earning 204.34 in the free skate at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in the city in Gangwon Province, some 230 kilometers east of Seoul. He beat Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan by 3.75 points to claim the men's singles title in his Four Continents debut.
Hanyu, the 2014 Olympic champion, had 206.67 in the free, best among 24 skaters, but couldn't overcome the deficit from the short program Friday. Hanyu was third in the short with a score of 97.04, while Chen was the leader with 103.12.
Third place went to Shoma Uno of Japan who scored 288.05 in total.
The reigning Four Continents champion Patrick Chan, also the 2014 Olympic silver medalist, settled for fourth place. The Canadian scored 179.52 in the free and couldn't make up the loss in the short where he had 88.46.
No South Koreans were able to finish inside the top 10 at home. Lee Si-hyeong, the youngest male competitor at age 16, had the best result among South Koreans at 16th place, with a total score of 195.72.
Kim Jin-seo took 17th place at 195.05, followed by Lee June-hyoung who finished 18th with a score of 187.58.
The Four Continents, open to non-Europeans, will officially wrap up their four-day schedule with the gala event later. The ISU competition is one of the test events for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. It is also the first international figure skating event held at Gangneung Ice Arena, the venue for figure skating and short track speed skating at the Winter Games. (Yonhap)