Vincent Zhou almost didn't get on the plane to the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022.
Following the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, where he tested positive for COVID-19 and had to withdraw from the men's singles event after winning silver in the Team Event, Zhou returned home devastated and had to go back to the drawing board. He prioritized his mental health over his physical health and, while he did get back to training, he wasn't sure he was up to competing on the world stage.
"The only thing that got me on the plane was the thought that I didn't want to live with the regret that I didn't even try," Zhou said. "That was the only thing that kept me going."
So Zhou headed to Montpellier, France, with low expectations and nothing to lose. An admitted overthinker, he decided to try to stop thinking so much and simply enjoy himself.
"I was really taking it day by day; I had no idea what to expect," Zhou said. "I obviously wanted the best result I could achieve more than anything, as anybody would, but at the same time, I just had no idea if that was possible, especially given everything leading up to Worlds. All pointers would indicate that I would skate terribly and not do well. So I really had no idea. I was open to anything, which was honestly kind of freeing, since not having that pressure of, 'I've been skating well. I have to keep it up. It's all the marbles,' or whatever. I didn't really have much of that. I was just taking it day by day, trying to enjoy every session as much as possible.
"And I ended up having one of the best weeks of my life."
Zhou says he felt oddly free that week in France, reaching a level of calm he's aspired to in the past but never quite been able to reach. His practices went smoothly, and he found himself watching his competitors practice and appreciating how far they had come since they all broke in on the junior level.
"I was lighter; I just felt appreciative to be there," Zhou said. "I think sometimes a lot of competitions, when you're super nervous, you wish it were over already. You wish you could fast-forward 24 hours. Nobody likes being extremely nervous – it's a very unsettling feeling. But for me, I was just taking in every moment, and because it was such a difficult road to even get there and I almost withdrew, simply being there was a big win for me. So I think that really allowed me to enjoy being there more."
In sixth place following the short program, Zhou was in the final group to take the ice in the free skate but was almost six points out of third place. While he says there was some tightness and nerves being in that last group, he still had nothing to lose and no podium spot to defend.
"I just had to go all out and give it my best for a chance at the podium, because I was a good number of points behind third after the short," he said. "I just did my best to relax and enjoy and stay in the moment, stay present. To take in everything I was feeling and let it flow through me. It's hard to find words to describe the best experiences in life, and I think Worlds was just extra special because of everything leading up to it, and then the result. After the free skate was over, I knew it wasn't the best skate of my life. It wasn't bad, either. For the most part I did what I set out to do, and I did much better than I could've dared to hope for, and ended up with a medal."
Zhou won bronze behind Shoma Uno and Yuma Kagiyama, both of Japan. It's his second World bronze medal, having earned the same finish in 2019.
"I'd say this one was more of a personal victory for me. The other one was as much an objective victory as it was a personal victory, but this one – definitely much more character growth came with this one," Zhou said with a laugh.
The last four years for Zhou have been quite the rollercoaster. After placing sixth in his Olympic debut in 2018 and winning Worlds bronze in 2019, he took almost a full season off and nearly quit skating, and placed 25th at the 2021 World Championships.
Zhou has been open about his mental health struggle since his Olympic disappointment. While it's still going to take some time to truly heal, having some new hardware has given him some new perspective.
"I think as sad as that is, I'm still grateful to walk out of the Olympics with a silver medal," Zhou said. "And winning the Worlds medal definitely gave some closure to the whole journey of the season and the four-year cycle, just ending it off on the best note possible that seemed impossible. That's definitely a great feeling."
Zhou is currently touring the country with
Stars on Ice, which he says is an incredibly special experience. He's trying to enjoy tour to the fullest and not let what happened at the Olympics weigh him down, though that's not always the easiest task.
Still, taking a step back and looking at the narrative of the season as a whole has given him a newfound confidence that he'll take with him for the rest of his life.
"If I didn't compete at Worlds or I didn't do well at Worlds, a lot of people would just remember me as that guy who got COVID at the Olympics and everything went downhill after that," Zhou said. "But I'm just so proud to say that's not the narrative. I'm the guy who got COVID at the Olympics, and who is an Olympic medalist, and who defeated all the odds to become a World medalist after that. That's such a feel-good statement right there. That's what the World medal means to me."
