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Brown wins 1st U.S. figure skating title

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Jason Brown won his first U.S. title, holding off Adam Rippon thanks to his big lead after the short program.

Joshua Farris, skating last, had a chance to overtake Brown on Sunday, but one of his triple-jump combinations didn’t count because he did a double toe loop three different times. It was still a successful event for Farris, who finished third to earn a chance to go to the world championships.

Rippon became the first man to win back-to-back world junior titles in 2009, but had struggled to live up to that promise in the senior ranks. He had just one medal at the U.S. Championships before Sunday, a silver in 2012, and was eighth last year.

Brown finished with 274.98 points to beat Rippon by 2.5. Rippon won the free skate with 187.77.

Brown, the runner-up last year to earn an Olympic berth, skated well enough Sunday to clinch victory. He landed with two feet on his second triple axel but had eight triples overall, proving he could win a national title without a quad.

“I’ve trained so hard and I’ve trained so consistency, so I went out there like it’s another day in the office,” he said.

Rippon landed eight triple jumps perfectly Sunday and tried a quad lutz that was downgraded. But Rippon was in fifth place, 8.65 points behind Brown, after the short program when he was deducted for under-rotating his spins.

Known more for his artistry than his jumping earlier in his career, Rippon showed off both Sunday. As soon as the music ended, Rippon screamed and shook both hands in front of him. He choked back tears after his huge free skate score temporarily put him in first.

The 25-year-old Rippon has frequently changed coaches in his career but found stability with Rafael Arutyunyan, who guided Ashley Wagner to a dominant victory in the women’s event a day earlier.

“I wanted to come here and make a statement that I’m a deserving U.S. champion,” Rippon said.

“To do that, you need to skate with tenacity and take big risks. I took those big risks in both programs here and I’m proud of that.”

Four-time champion Jeremy Abbott dropped from third to fifth after falling twice during the long program.

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