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Vincent Zhou, of the USA, competes within the males’s staff free skate program throughout the determine skating competitors on the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photograph/David J. Phillip)
By DAVE SKRETTA | The Related Press
BEIJING — American determine skater Vincent Zhou is out of quarantine after testing constructive for COVID-19 on the Beijing Video games, and he plans to carry out within the exhibition gala that historically closes the Olympic program on Sunday.
Zhou, who grew up in Palo Alto, had simply helped the U.S. win staff silver on Feb. 7 when he received a telephone name saying that he had examined constructive. He was instantly whisked away to a quarantine resort about half-hour from the Olympic Village, the place he spent a couple of week locked in his room doing exercises, listening to music and “watching Netflix for the primary time.”
The timing of the end result, the day earlier than the lads’s quick program, left him no alternative however to withdraw from the occasion.
“The signs I did have have been truthfully lighter than your common chilly or flu,” Zhou stated. “It felt like a light chilly. I believe the worst factor was most likely a sore throat and a few congestion. Like, that was the worst of it.”
Zhou stated he didn’t watch the lads’s program as a result of “it was too emotionally tough,” however he saved observe of the outcomes and was comfortable to see his teammates carry out nicely. Nathan Chen gained the gold medal together with his memorable free skate to Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” whereas Jason Brown completed in a good sixth place.
“It additionally was tough to see the outcomes as a result of I knew I might medal,” stated Zhou, who was fifth on the 2018 Pyeongchang Video games. “I’d been coaching persistently at a degree to attain like that and win a bronze medal. It was a tough day for me.”
There have been some a lot better moments throughout his quarantine interval, together with a supportive message he obtained from singer Josh Groban, who performs the music that Zhou makes use of throughout his free skate.
Zhou nonetheless doesn’t know the way he contracted the virus, particularly given the care he took main as much as competitors. He stated he used hand sanitizer by the pint, lived a loner life-style and wore a masks in every single place he went, together with the eating corridor, the place he would slip it again over his mouth in between bites of meals.
“I don’t need to sound like a damaged document,” he stated, “however all the things in need of shifting to Antarctica, I’ve taken precautions. I believe it’s simply actually unlucky. A stroke of unhealthy luck. I truthfully don’t know the way I received it.”
Zhou will nonetheless depart Beijing with a medal from the staff occasion, although no person is bound which colour or how he’ll obtain it. The Worldwide Olympic Committee is refusing to carry a medal ceremony after studying that Russian skater Kamila Valieva examined constructive for a banned substance in December, placing her staff’s gold medal in query.
Valieva was cleared to carry out within the ladies’s competitors by the Court docket of Arbitration for Sport, however it didn't rule on the total case. The outcomes of a whole investigation, and what it means for the staff occasion, won't be identified for months.
“That’s nonetheless a creating state of affairs and it’s additionally one thing that’s fully out of my management, and any of the opposite athletes’ management,” Zhou stated. “I can’t actually touch upon what’s happening there, however I do hope that Group USA does obtain our medal finally and hopefully it gained’t take, like, 4 years or no matter.”
Zhou additionally acknowledged that “honest play and integrity of the game” are of the utmost significance to him.
“I can simply say I’m proud to have competed clear my whole life,” he stated. “It positively is a reasonably stunning and, you recognize, scary state of affairs we've happening right here the place the women — I might perceive fully if the women didn’t precisely belief the integrity of the competitors and the equity of all the things.”
After performing within the exhibition gala Sunday, Zhou plans to return to the U.S. and put together for the world championships the ultimate week of March in Montpellier, France. He additionally plans to tour with Stars on Ice earlier than resuming his research at Brown College this fall, however he hasn’t determined whether or not to proceed skating competitively for one more Olympic cycle.
Zhou doesn’t flip 22 till October, which implies a 3rd journey to the Winter Video games is inside the realm of chance.
“I’m simply so impressed by the extent of Olympic efficiency that each one the lads have been capable of convey out,” he stated. “It’s a real honor to have been capable of compete with these unbelievable males this previous season.”
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Extra AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports