U.S. figure skater Vincent Zhou out of Olympics after positive Covid test

U.S. Olympic determine skater and medal contender Vincent Zhou examined optimistic for Covid-19, officers mentioned Monday, and gained’t give you the chance compete within the males’s particular person competitors on the Beijing Winter Video games.

A visibly shaken Zhou took to Instagram on Monday to disclose the disappointing information.

“It appears fairly unreal that of all of the individuals it could occur to, (it’d be) myself,” mentioned Zhou, who gave the impression to be in a resort room as he spoke straight right into a digital camera.

“That’s not simply because I’m nonetheless processing this flip of occasions but in addition as a result of I’ve been doing every thing in my energy to remain freed from Covid for the reason that begin of the pandemic. I’ve taken all of the precautions I can. I’ve remoted myself a lot that the loneliness I’ve felt the final month or two has been crushing at instances.”

Zhou fought again tears all through his 5-minute video tackle and known as himself an “emotional wreck.”

Earlier Monday, Workforce USA captured silver within the crew competitors.

“I’ve already misplaced rely of the variety of instances I’ve cried immediately,” he mentioned. “However I’m glad to say that not less than a type of instances was glad tears. That was after I discovered that I grew to become an Olympic silver medalist.”

The optimistic consequence got here throughout routine screening for rivals, the U.S. Determine Skating affiliation mentioned in an announcement early Monday. Officers had held out hope that might have been a false optimistic.

Zhou’s surprising departure will now depart Workforce USA with simply two males competing, Nathan Chen and Jason Brown.

Workforce USA had named Ilia Malinin, a 17-year-old from Fairfax, Virginia, as its first alternate.

However beneath the competitors’s Late Athlete Substitute pointers, Zhou bowed out too late within the course of to call a substitute, U.S. Determine Skating spokesperson Michael Terry instructed NBC Information.

Malinin completed second ultimately month’s U.S. Determine Skating Championships in Nashville. Nevertheless, U.S. Determine Skating went with the expertise of Zhou, Chen and Brown for the beginning three spots in Beijing.

“By rule, Vincent couldn’t get replaced as soon as he skated within the crew occasion,” Terry mentioned.

The boys’s brief program begins Tuesday morning in Beijing (8:15 p.m. ET Monday).

Zhou competed over the weekend within the males’s free skate occasion, putting third and realizing a longtime purpose of skating within the Olympics to the music of the 2000 Ang Lee movie, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” in China, his dad and mom’ house nation.

Zhou, 21, completed sixth on the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the place he made historical past as the primary skater to land a quadruple lutz within the brief program.

Family and friends of Zhou, who considers Palo Alto, California, as his hometown, gathered in San Diego, the place they held a watch occasion for his free skate late Saturday.

Chen is the favourite to win gold and has gained practically each competitors he’s entered this season. The one time he fell in need of first place was at Skate America in Las Vegas in October, when Zhou took high honors.

The U.S.-born Zhou had been wanting ahead to competing in Beijing, which he has known as his “second hometown” and the place his grandparents and different household nonetheless reside.

“The enormity of the scenario, the ache of all of it, it’s fairly insane,” the American skater mentioned Monday.

“Whereas it was at all times my dream to medal on an Olympic stage which I did accomplish earlier than this occurred, the overarching dream was simply to skate. If I didn’t love this, I wouldn’t nonetheless be doing it. I do know I really like this. That keenness goes a good distance.”

Zhou thanked his teammates and mentioned he expects to be again on the ice for the World Championships in Montpellier, France, subsequent month.

The Brown College pupil didn’t point out the 2026 Winter Video games in Italy.

“This isn’t the top. It is a setup for a much bigger comeback. Vincent Zhou, signing out,” he mentioned, saluting the digital camera.