Chan places first in men's short program at Four Continents

Even reigning world champion Patrick Chan couldn’t get through his men’s short program routine without a misstep at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.

Chan’s performance featured a stumble, and many other of the top skaters couldn’t get through their routines cleanly either late Thursday night. Chan, a Canadian, trains at the World Arena, where the competition is being held.

Despite the misstep, Chan finished first in the men’s short program with a score of 87.95. On his first jump, Chan lost his balance and put his hands down on the ice to keep from going down. That didn’t affect his score too much, as he grabbed the lead.

“I was happy with how I was about to gather myself, figure myself out and get back into the rhythm of this,” Chan said after the short program.

Daisuke Takahashi, a bronze medalist at the 2010 Olympics, had a fall of his own, but rallied to post a score of 82.59, barely passing fellow Japanese skater Tatsuki Machida, who had been in second with a score of 82.37.

Takahito Mura, also from Japan, posted a score of 83.44 in the second-to-last performance of the night, claiming second place after the short program. Takahashi was third and Machida was fourth.

Americans Adam Rippon and Ross Miner, who finished second and third at nationals last month, couldn’t keep pace with the leaders. Miner had a score of 76.89 for his short program, for sixth place, and Rippon posted a 74.92, for seventh.

“It was a really hard turnaround from nationals to here,” said Rippon, who fell at the end of one of his jumps.

American Richard Dornbush, a late injury replacement for Jeremy Abbott, was 13th.

The men’s free skate begins Friday at 7 p.m. Before that the women's short program starts at 1 p.m.