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U.S.A. / SPORTS April 2, 2018 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 7 Chen avenges his Olympic flop with world figure skate title By Colleen Barry The Associated Press A SSAGO, Italy — Nathan Chen’s redemption is complete. While all of his top competitors fell, the 18-year-old Chen completed six quadruple jumps in the free program to become the first U.S. winner of the men’s world figure skating title since 2009. For the rest, it was a fallathon: 14 sprawls, splats, and tumbles among five competitors as they attempted the all-mighty quad. There were three falls by silver medallist Shoma Uno of Japan, who matched his Olympic silver, and two by Mikhail Kolyada of Russia, who took bronze. Skating last, Chen said he knew the others made mistakes — though not quite how bad — and that gave him the freedom to attempt six quads, knowing he had room for error. After his woeful Olympic short program put the podium out of reach, Chen said at the worlds, “I just wanted to redeem myself in the short, and try to maintain what I did in the long.” He did better than that. He finished first in the short, vanquishing that Olympic ghost. And then in the free, he completed six quadruples, with minor deductions for stepping out of the quadruple salchow, to score 219.46 in the free for an overall total of 321.40. That compared to his Olympic free program where he attempted six triples, completing five cleanly but putting his hands down on a quad flip. That earned him an Olympic record 215.08 points. Chen said the Olympic disappointment in the individual and team short programs helped pave the way to the world title, the first by a U.S. men’s skater since Evan Lysacek nine years ago. “I learned so much more from making those mistakes in both short programs, than if I would have skated better,” Chen said. “‘Having that experience will propel me in the future better than if I had done the short program better.” Uno, the only Olympic medallist to show up at the worlds, finished nearly 50 points behind Chen. Uno stunned the crowd when he fell on an opening quad loop, and circled around for another fall on a quad flip. The final fall came on a quad toe. But with the crowd urging him on, he finished strong with a quad toe in combination and two more combinations as Puccini’s “Turandot” intoned the famed refrain “Vincerò,” “I will win.” “I did not give up,” said Uno, who injured his right foot after the Olympics due to an ill-fitting boot. Skating to an Elvis Presley medley, SUPERIOR SKATING. Nathan Chen of the United States performs during the men’s free skate at the Figure Skating World Championships in Assago, near Milan. Chen’s redemption is complete. While all of his top competitors fell, the 18-year-old completed six quadruple jumps in the free program to become the first U.S. winner of the men’s world figure skating title since 2009. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Kolyada fell on his opening quad lutz and a quad toe, hitting just one of his quadruple attempts. He showed his disappointment by pointing to his head as he waited for his marks to go up: 185.27 in the free for a total of 272.32. U.S. skater Vincent Zhou, the world junior champion last year, fell three times in the final skate, tumbling to 14th place after a strong short program put him within striking distance of the podium. The generally chaotic programs, to some, reflected the long skating season, which started in September, and the pressure of turning around quickly for a major international championship. But the medal winners all said they had enough turnaround time and would compete again in an Olympic-year worlds as long as one was scheduled. The International Skating Union is considering other rule changes at its next congress in June, which could impact how the skaters plan their programs. Proposals include shortening the long program and limiting the number of quads that can be repeated. China’s lobster imports keep U.S. price high, but no tariffs CRUSTACEANS SENT TO CHINA. Live lobsters are packed for overseas shipment at the Maine Lobster Outlet in York, Maine, in this file photo. China’s hunger for American lobsters is helping keep prices high for U.S. consumers, but a tariff on the seafood does not appear imminent. Federal stats say China imported a record of more than 17.8 million pounds of lobster from America in 2017, eclipsing the previous record of about 14 million pounds in 2016. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) By Patrick Whittle The Associated Press B IDDEFORD, Maine — China’s hunger for American lobsters is helping keep prices high to U.S. consumers, but a tariff on the seafood does not appear imminent. The Asian country imported more than 17.8 million pounds of lobster from America in 2017, eclipsing the previous record of about 14 million pounds in 2016, federal statistics state. The value of the imports also surged from $108.3 million in 2016 to $142.4 million last year, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. China’s growing interest in the premium U.S. seafood item is happening just as the Trump administration is engaging in a trade battle with the country. China has targeted dozens of U.S. products for new tariffs, including some food items such as nuts and pork, but lobsters aren’t on the list. 7 6 1 4 5 4 7 4 5 8 2 1 2 3 9 3 7 6 3 1 5 4 7 2 5 6 9 7 2 4 9 5 EASY Difficulty The increased imports are also happening just as American fishermen might be starting to slip in volume of catch. Fishermen in Maine, the biggest lobster fishing state, saw catch fall from 132.5 million pounds to 110.8 million pounds last year. Prices have been high to consumers at home, with lobsters fetching more than $12 per pound in some New England markets. More exports to Asia coupled with smaller catches could keep those prices up, said Bill Bruns, operations manager with Lobster Company of Arundel, Maine, a lobster exporter. “It’s commodity based. You raise the price. It wouldn’t be any different with apples, oranges, or pickles,” Bruns said. “But if it’s too expensive, nobody wants it.” Chinese lobster imports from the U.S. began surging in 2011, when they exceeded a million pounds for the first level: Easy Summer Run Puzzle #65969 (Hard) All solutions available at <www.sudoku.com>. TALKING STORY IN ASIAN AMERICA Retirement Apartments # 32 #76421 • Studio & One-Bedroom Apartments • Affordable Rent with No Costly Instructions: Fill in the grid so that the digits 1 through 9 appear one time each in every row, col- umn, and 3x3 box. Solution to last issue’s puzzle time. The value of America’s lobster exports to China have also ballooned in that time, increasing by a factor of almost 20 since 2010. Exports to Hong Kong, which are tallied separately, have also increased, though they plateaued at around $50 million around 2013 and have stayed there since. The growth is happening against the backdrop of a strained relationship between the world’s two largest economies. The Trump administration announced it would impose tariffs on $60 billion of Chinese goods. China then announced its own new tariffs on everything from American aluminum scrap to dried fruits. The value of China’s lobster imports is likely to fluctuate, but the sheer volume of the crustaceans that the country is taking from the U.S. shows interest is at an all-time high, said John Sackton, a market analyst who publishes the SeafoodNews.com website. “What that shows is the expansion of lobster sales in China is continuing to grow very rapidly,” he said. Industry members have tied the growth of lobster exports to China to the expanding middle class in the country. Exports have also increased in recent years to other Asian countries, such as Thailand, which imported its largest total in history last year at more than 675,000 pounds. The country imported less than 50,000 pounds in 2010. South Korea imported less than 700,000 pounds of American lobster in 2010 and more than 2.4 million pounds last year. Vietnam imported almost nothing in 2010 and took more than 4 million pounds last year. 4 7 5 8 3 9 6 2 1 8 6 1 7 2 4 5 9 3 2 9 3 6 5 1 8 7 4 3 4 2 5 1 8 7 6 9 6 5 9 3 4 7 1 8 2 7 1 8 2 9 6 3 4 5 5 8 4 9 6 3 2 1 7 9 3 7 1 8 2 4 5 6 1 2 6 4 7 5 9 3 8 Buy-Ins or Application Fees • Federal Rent Subsidies Available • Ideal Urban location near shopping, bus lines, restaurants, and more! 7810 SE Foster Road Portland, OR 97206 503 • 774 • 8885 • Enjoy our small community atmosphere that’s relaxed & friendly! n Polo Polo’s “Talking Story” column will return soon.