U.S. figure skater Vincent Zhou has withdrawn from the Beijing Olympics after testing positive for coronavirus.
Zhou, a Palo Alto native, initially tested positive Sunday evening Pacific Time, then announced Monday morning in an that further testing had confirmed the result.
Between his initial test and the confirmation, Zhou became an Olympic medalist as his United States teammates sealed their team skating silver medal. which Zhou contributed a third-place free skate finish to the effort.
From a hotel room in Beijing, Zhou expressed how he'd been affected by isolation in the lead-up to the games and shared his disappointment with the news.
The 21-year-old also shared a message of positivity for himself:
To the future Vincent watching this, your younger self would be so proud of the athlete and person you’ve become now. Little 8-year-old you would be asking 21-year-old you for photos and autographs and everything.
You know why? Because you lived out your dreams. You became the person you always aspired to be. When you were young, sitting on the couch, watching those great skaters on TV, studying their jumps every night at the dinner table, waking up at 4 a.m. or earlier to go into the rink and skate and do tumble jumps, you had no idea what you were getting into.
But you had a dream and you followed it. You made sacrifices for it, you dedicated your life to it. And today, you are that person, Vincent. You made it happen. So be proud of that, take pride in yourself. Recognize yourself. And don’t be afraid to take a step back and look at things from the bigger picture.
Be grateful. Be grateful for everyone around you who is also willing to make sacrifices for you and be part of this incredible journey that you’ve been on.
