US figure skater Vincent Zhou still dealing with 'mixed bag of emotions' after positive COVID test
U.S. figure skater Vincent Zhou, in his first media appearance since he withdrew from the men's short program because of a positive COVID-19 test, said he's still dealing with a "mixed bag of emotions."
Zhou, who had posted an emotional 5-minute Instagram video on Monday about his decision, told NBC's "Today" that he was still processing the news.
"Fortunately, I'm pretty good at seeing different perspectives at once and grounding myself," he said. "So I'm using all the mental tactics that I learned to handle competition pressure and different circumstances and applying them now."
On Instagram, Zhou said he had done everything in his power to avoid getting COVID and had isolated himself so much that "the loneliness I've felt in the last month or two has been crushing at times."
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He said Tuesday that the positive test came as a shock because he was asymptomatic up until then and was "99 percent asymptomatic still."
"The world championships are not long from now (March 21-27 in France)," he added. "I'm going to be trying to make a quick recovery and hoping to represent Team USA with all my best."
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Zhou, 21, who won a silver medal with the USA in the team competition, said it's too soon to think about future Olympics.
"You know when I was young, I said I would compete in four Olympics all the way until 2030, but we’ll see," he said. "I’ve learned to take these one step at a time and pace myself."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vincent Zhou, US figure skater, still processing positive COVID test
