Olympian Vincent Zhou Grappling with 'Mixed Bag of Emotions' After COVID Forces Him Out of Competition

Natasha Dado
·2 min read
Vincent Zhou
Vincent Zhou
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Tom Pennington/Getty Vincent Zhou

Team USA's Vincent Zhou is opening up about being forced to withdraw from the men's individual figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.

In an appearance on the Today show Tuesday, the 21-year figure skater discussed his emotions about the positive test with hosts Carson Daly, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker.

"There's a mixed bag of emotions obviously, but I'm still processing everything and letting things flow … I'm using all the mental tactics that I learned to handle competition pressure and different circumstances and applying them now," he said, video chatting in from Beijing.

When asked about whether he would consider competing in an Olympic Games in the future, Zhou said, "When I was young I said that I would compete in four Olympics, all the way until 2030. But we'll see. I've learned to take things one step at a time and pace myself."

RELATED: Vincent Zhou Unable to Compete in Men's Figure Skating Competition After Testing Positive for COVID

Vincent Zhou
Vincent Zhou

NBC News/Today

RELATED: Before COVID Cut Short His Beijing Olympic Dreams, Vincent Zhou Got Candid About Greatness and Pressure

The Olympic silver medalist tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, after competing as part of the figure skating team competition. He was scheduled to participate in the men's short program on Tuesday morning in Beijing and needed to test negative twice to skate.

In his appearance on Today, Zhou revealed he still has no COVID-19 symptoms.

"I was asymptomatic all up until the sudden positive test so it definitely did come as a shock," he said. "Right now I would say I am 99% asymptomatic still."

He also said he hopes to recover quickly as the Figure Skating World Championships draw near.

"I will be hoping to make a quick recovery and represent Team USA with all my best," he added.

Zhou posted an emotional message in an Instagram video Monday about testing positive.

"It seems pretty unreal that of all the people, it would happen to myself," he said in the video. "And that's not just because I'm still processing this turn of events but also because I have been doing everything in my power to stay free of COVID since the start of the pandemic."

He continued, "I've isolated myself so much that the loneliness I've felt in the last month or to has been crushing at times. The enormity of the situation, just the pain of it all is pretty insane."

To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, now, and the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.