Vincent Zhou facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vincent Zhou
Zhou at the 2019 Four Continents Championships
Personal information
Country represented	United States
Born	(2000-10-25) October 25, 2000 (age 24) San Jose, California, United States
Home town	Palo Alto, California
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Coach	Mie Hamada Tom Zakrajsek Drew Meekins
Skating club	Skating Club of San Francisco
Began skating	2006

Vincent Zhou, born on October 25, 2000, is a talented American figure skater. He won a gold medal at the 2022 Olympic Games team event. He also earned two bronze medals at the World Championships in 2019 and 2022. In 2019, he won a bronze medal at the Four Continents Championships. Vincent was the champion at 2021 Skate America and has won three silver medals at the U.S. national championships (2017, 2019, 2021). He was also the World Junior champion in 2017 and the U.S. junior national champion in 2013.

In February 2018, Vincent made history at the Winter Olympics. He was the first skater to successfully land a super-difficult quadruple Lutz jump there! He finished in sixth place at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

About Vincent Zhou

Vincent Zhou was born in San Jose, California. His parents are originally from China. His older sister, Vivian, plays the violin and is a diver. His mom, Fei Ge, and dad, Max Zhou, are both computer scientists. They worked in Silicon Valley, a famous tech area. When Vincent was a baby, his family moved to Palo Alto, California, where they still live.

Vincent moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, with his mom in 2015. He later returned to California, but now trains mostly in Colorado Springs. He had a Siamese tabby cat named Snookie. Vincent also volunteers often.

Vincent went to an online school, Capistrano Connections Academy. This helped him fit in his skating training. He even won the Presidential Award for Educational Excellence for his great schoolwork! In 2019, Vincent started studying at Brown University.

Vincent's Skating Journey

Starting Out in Skating

Vincent Zhou began skating in 2005. As a young child, he took lessons with Julie Lowndes and Charlie Tickner. He was coached by Diana Miro when he was younger. When he was nine, Vincent started working with Tammy Gambill. He joined the All Year Figure Skating Club in Riverside, California. Vincent looks up to other famous skaters like Patrick Chan and Yuzuru Hanyu.

He won three national titles in a row at different levels:

• 2011 U.S. intermediate champion (he was the youngest to win this title!)
• 2012 U.S. novice champion
• 2013 U.S. junior champion (he was also the youngest to win this title!)

Vincent planned to skate at the senior level in 2013–2014. However, he missed that season because of an injury. He also had to miss the entire 2014–15 season. This was due to a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. He had surgery in San Francisco to fix these injuries.

In 2015, Vincent began training at the Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His new coaches were Tom Zakrajsek and Becky Calvin. He returned to competition in May 2015 at the Santa Fe Skatefest.

Junior Grand Prix and First Senior Competitions

In the 2015–2016 season, Vincent made his first appearance in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. He won two silver medals in Slovakia and Austria. These results helped him qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final in Barcelona, where he finished fourth.

In January 2016, Vincent placed 8th at the U.S. Championships at the senior level. He was then chosen for the U.S. team for the World Junior Championships in Hungary. He placed fifth overall at that event.

For the 2016–2017 season, Vincent changed coaches again, returning to Tammy Gambill. He continued to train in Colorado Springs with Drew Meekins and Tom Zakrajsek. He won a silver medal in Japan and a bronze medal in Estonia in the Junior Grand Prix series. In December, he made his senior international debut but had to withdraw due to injury.

In January 2017, Vincent won the silver medal at the U.S. Championships as a senior skater. The next month, he won his first senior international gold medal at the Bavarian Open. In March, he won the gold medal at the 2017 World Junior Championships. He moved up from 5th place in the short program to win the title with a personal best free skate!

Olympic Debut and World Medals

Vincent started the 2017–2018 season at the Finlandia Trophy. He finished second after winning the free skate. He then made his senior Grand Prix debut. He competed in China and France, finishing 4th and 9th respectively.

After a lot of training and a shoulder injury, Vincent went to the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. He tried seven quadruple jumps and won the bronze medal. His score was very close to the silver medalist.

Vincent was chosen for the U.S. Olympic figure skating team for Pyeongchang, South Korea. During his short program on February 16, he became the first skater to land a quadruple Lutz jump at the Olympics! He finished 6th overall.

In April 2018, Vincent shared on Instagram that he and his choreographer Joshua Farris created a new exhibition program. It was set to A-ha's "Take On Me". Vincent said he loved the song after reading Ready Player One.

For the 2018–2019 season, Vincent competed at the U.S. International Classic. He placed fourth overall. He also competed in two Grand Prix events, Skate America and NHK Trophy, finishing fifth and fourth. In November, he won a silver medal at the 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy.

At the 2019 U.S. Championships, he won the silver medal. He said he was happy but knew he could still improve. He then competed at the 2019 Four Continents Championships. He placed first in the short program with a personal best score. He won the bronze medal, his first medal at an ISU Championship.

At the 2019 World Championships, Vincent scored a new season's best in the free skate. He won the bronze medal! He was very proud to have two strong performances. He noted it was the first time since 1996 that two Americans were on the podium. Vincent ended the season by winning a gold medal with Team USA at the 2019 World Team Trophy.

University, Pandemic, and More Medals

For the 2019–2020 season, Vincent decided to train with Tammy Gambill and Mie Hamada. He also chose to attend Brown University. He felt the school schedule was flexible enough for him to skate and study.

Vincent won a bronze medal at the 2019 CS U.S. Classic. He then withdrew from his Grand Prix events to focus on his midterm exams. In January 2020, Vincent announced he would take a year off from Brown University. He would be coached by Hamada, Lee Barkell, and Lori Nichol in Toronto.

He only had about four weeks to train before the 2020 U.S. Championships. He still placed fourth and won the pewter medal. Vincent only performed one quadruple jump in each program. The World Championships were later canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic made it hard for Vincent to train in Toronto. He returned to Colorado Springs and his former coaches. He competed at 2020 Skate America in Las Vegas. He placed second in both programs and won the silver medal. This was his first Grand Prix medal!

Vincent competed at the 2021 U.S. Championships, also in Las Vegas. He placed second in the short program, landing two quad jumps. He won the silver medal overall. He then went to the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm. He struggled in the short program and did not qualify for the free skate. This meant the U.S. team had to work harder to get three spots for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Olympic Gold and World Bronze

After winning the Cranberry Cup event, Vincent competed at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. He won the event, securing a third Olympic spot for the United States.

At his first Grand Prix event of the season, 2021 Skate America, Vincent skated two clean programs. He landed five quads in his free skate and won the gold medal! This was a big win over Nathan Chen, who had been undefeated for over three years. Vincent said he didn't expect to win but focused on being well-prepared. His next event, the 2021 NHK Trophy, was a close contest. He placed second in the short program but had a difficult free skate, finishing second overall. He qualified for the Grand Prix Final, but it was canceled due to new travel restrictions.

Vincent placed second in the short program at the 2022 U.S. Championships. He struggled in the free skate, making mistakes on his jumps. He finished third overall, just ahead of Jason Brown. Despite his disappointment, he was named to his second American Olympic team.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Vincent competed in the men's free skate for the Olympic team event. He made a mistake on one jump but completed three more quads. He ranked third in the segment, helping the U.S. team win the gold medal! However, Vincent later tested positive for COVID-19. He had to withdraw from the individual men's event, which was very upsetting for him. He was also not allowed to participate in the closing ceremony.

The U.S. team was originally awarded the silver medal for the team event. But after a positive doping test for Russia's gold medalist, Kamila Valieva, the medals were put on hold. In January 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport disqualified her. This meant the gold medal was awarded to the U.S. team!

After the Olympics, Vincent competed at the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier. He placed sixth in the short program but moved up to fourth in the free skate. He secured third place overall, winning another bronze medal! He said he was still upset about the Olympics but grateful for the chance to compete at Worlds.

Vincent has said he will focus on his studies in the fall. However, he has not ruled out returning to skating in the future.

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, a special medal ceremony was held. Vincent and his teammates from the 2022 Olympic Figure Skating Team Event finally received their Olympic gold medals!

Programs

Zhou at the 2015–16 Junior Grand Prix Final

Competitive Highlights

Detailed Results

Senior Level Results

Results in the 2015–16 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Jan 15–24, 2016	2016 U.S. Championships	8	68.10	8	149.13	8	217.23

Results in the 2016–17 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Dec 7–10, 2016	2016 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	12	64.61	N/A	N/A	–	WD
Jan 14–22, 2017	2017 U.S. Championships	3	87.85	2	175.18	2	263.03
Feb 14–19, 2017	2017 Bavarian Open	1	85.53	1	162.28	1	247.81

Results in the 2016–17 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 6–8, 2017	2017 CS Finlandia Trophy	6	76.10	1	173.91	2	250.01
Nov 3–5, 2017	2017 Cup of China	8	80.23	2	176.43	4	256.66
Nov 17–19, 2017	2017 Internationaux de France	10	66.12	7	156.09	9	222.21
Dec 29, 2017 –Jan 8, 2018	2018 U.S. Championships	5	89.02	3	184.81	3	273.83
Feb 16–17, 2018	2018 Winter Olympics	12	84.53	6	192.16	6	276.69
Mar 19–25, 2018	2018 World Championships	3	96.78	19	138.46	14	235.24

Results in the 2018–19 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 12–16, 2018	2018 CS U.S. International Classic	6	61.72	1	142.90	4	204.62
Oct 19–21, 2018	2018 Skate America	6	76.38	3	149.37	5	225.75
Nov 9–11, 2018	2018 NHK Trophy	5	75.90	4	147.52	4	223.42
Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2018	2018 CS Tallinn Trophy	3	77.46	2	156.79	2	234.25
Jan 19–27, 2019	2019 U.S. Championships	3	100.25	2	183.76	2	284.01
Feb 7–10, 2019	2019 Four Continents Championships	1	100.18	5	172.04	3	272.22
Mar 18–24, 2019	2019 World Championships	4	94.17	3	186.99	3	281.16
Apr 11–14, 2019	2019 World Team Trophy	2	100.51	2	198.50	1 (2)	299.01

Results in the 2019–20 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 17–22, 2019	2019 CS U.S. International Classic	1	89.03	4	142.92	3	231.95
Oct 5, 2019	2019 Japan Open	N/A	N/A	3	167.64	3	N/A
Jan 20–26, 2020	2020 U.S. Championships	4	94.82	4	180.41	4	275.23

Results in the 2020–21 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 23–24, 2020	2020 Skate America	2	99.36	2	175.47	2	275.10
Jan 11–21, 2021	2021 U.S. Championships	2	107.79	2	183.59	2	291.38
Mar 22–28, 2021	2021 World Championships	25	70.51	N/A	N/A	25	70.51

Results in the 2021–22 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Aug 11–15, 2021	2021 Cranberry Cup International	1	102.53	1	185.73	1	288.26
Sep 22–25, 2021	2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	1	97.35	1	186.88	1	284.23
Oct 22–24, 2021	2021 Skate America	1	97.43	1	198.13	1	295.56
Nov 12–14, 2021	2021 NHK Trophy	2	99.51	6	161.18	2	260.69
Jan 3–9, 2022	2022 U.S. Championships	2	112.78	4	177.38	3	290.16
Feb 4–7, 2022	2022 Winter Olympics (Team event)	N/A	N/A	3	171.44	1	N/A
Mar 21–27, 2022	2022 World Championships	6	95.84	4	181.54	3	277.38

Junior Level Results

Results in the 2012–13 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Jan 20–22, 2013	2013 U.S. Championships	2	66.31	1	138.95	1	205.26

Results in the 2015–16 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Aug 19–23, 2015	2015 JGP Slovakia	2	68.07	2	132.78	2	200.85
Sep 9–13, 2015	2015 JGP Austria	3	66.59	2	145.37	2	211.96
Dec 10–13, 2015	2015–16 Junior Grand Prix Final	4	70.48	3	134.08	4	204.56
Mar 14–20, 2016	2016 World Junior Championships	4	77.37	4	143.88	5	221.19

Results in the 2016–17 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 8–11, 2016	2016 JGP Japan	1	80.53	2	145.86	2	226.39
Sep 28 – Oct 2, 2016	2016 JGP Estonia	1	78.10	3	135.82	3	213.92
Mar 15–19, 2017	2017 World Junior Championships	5	78.87	1	179.24	1	258.11

See also

In Spanish: Vincent Zhou para niños