Chen delight at clinching world figure skating crown

The 18-year-old took advantage of a chaotic free skate in Milan after five of the skaters who took to the ice before him fell, with some tumbling more than once.

There were three falls by silver medallist Japan's Shoma Uno, who matched his Olympic silver, and two by Russia's Mikhail Kolyada, who took bronze.

Chen went into the free skate in first place and could played it safe to ensure victory, but instead he slammed his advantage home in his final performance of the season.

Putting to bed his Olympic disappointment in Pyeongchang, where he found himself in 17th position after a poor short program before finishing in fifth after a rousing free skate, he hit six quads to claim the gold.

Following his triumph, Chen said he knew the others had made mistakes and that gave him the freedom to take risks, knowing he had room for error.

"I just wanted to redeem myself in the short, and try to maintain what I did in the long," said Chen, who finished nearly 50 points ahead of his nearest rival.

"I learned a lot from the Olympics where I didn't do things at all the way I wanted to except the long program.

"I'm really happy the worlds were held so close after because it gave me the chance to end the season on a better note.

"Olympics are on a different level so coming in with that experience did help me a lot."

American Vincent Zhou slipped to 14 after crashing three times while China's Jin Boyang - a two-time world bronze medallist - fell five times to slump to 19th.

Sportsbeat 2018