'Setup for a bigger comeback': American figure skater Vincent Zhou withdraws after positive COVID test
U.S. men's figure skater Vincent Zhou has tested positive for the coronavirus, and is out of the individual competition.
In a five-minute video posted to on Monday night, a teary Zhou announced that he would have to withdraw. He had initially tested positive as part of a routine COVID-19 screening, and underwent additional testing.
The 21-year-old from Palo Alto, California, had struggled through a poor free skate for the eventual team silver medalists a day before, and was due to compete in the individual competition that began with the men's short program on Tuesday.
"I have taken all the precautions I can, I've isolated myself so much that the loneliness I've felt in the last month or two has been crushing at times," he said in the video.
"The enormity of the situation, the pain of it all is pretty insane...but I do recognize that this absolutely does not define me as an athlete, as a person."
Zhou said he had isolated to the point of crushing loneliness over the past few months in a bid to avoid the virus. He ended on a positive note, though: "This is not the end. This is a setup for a bigger comeback."