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 October 25, 2000) is an American figure skater. He is famous for his amazing jumps and spins on the ice.

Vincent won a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the 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.

He was the champion at 2021 Skate America and won silver medals three times at the U.S. national championships. Before that, he was the World Junior champion in 2017 and the U.S. junior national champion in 2013.

In 2018, Vincent made history at the Winter Olympics. He was the first skater to successfully land a difficult jump called a quadruple Lutz at the Olympics. He finished sixth at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

About Vincent Zhou

His Early Life and Family

Vincent Zhou was born in San Jose, California. His parents, Fei Ge and Max Zhou, are both computer scientists. They moved from China to the United States. Vincent also has an older sister named Vivian, who is a violinist and a diver.

When Vincent was a baby, his family moved to Palo Alto, California, where they still live. For a while, Vincent and his mom lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado so he could train for skating. He even had a Siamese tabby cat named Snookie! Vincent also likes to help others by volunteering regularly.

School and Learning

To make time for his intense skating training, Vincent went to an online school called Capistrano Connections Academy. This allowed him to study from anywhere. He even received a special award called the Presidential Award for Educational Excellence for his great schoolwork.

In 2019, Vincent started attending Brown University, which is a well-known college. He chose it because it allowed him to balance his studies with his skating career.

Vincent's Skating Journey

Starting Out in Skating

Vincent began learning to skate in 2005 when he was just five years old. As a young child, he worked with different coaches. When he was nine, he started training with Tammy Gambill.

Vincent looked up to many famous skaters, including Patrick Chan, Brian Boitano, Michael Weiss, Yuzuru Hanyu, and Richard Dornbush.

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 had to take a break from skating in 2013 and 2014 because of a knee injury. He had surgery to fix it and then worked hard to get back on the ice. In 2015, he started training in Colorado Springs, Colorado with new coaches, Tom Zakrajsek and Becky Calvin.

Junior Grand Prix and World Juniors

In the 2015–2016 season, Vincent started competing in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. He won two silver medals in Slovakia and Austria. These wins helped him qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final in Spain, where he finished fourth.

In 2016, he competed at the U.S. Championships at the senior level for the first time, finishing eighth. He then went to the World Junior Championships in Hungary, placing fifth overall.

For the 2016–2017 season, Vincent changed coaches again, returning to Tammy Gambill. He continued to train in Colorado Springs. He won a silver medal at the U.S. Championships in January 2017. 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 was fifth after the short program but skated his best in the free skate to win the title.

Olympic Debut and World Medals

Vincent started the 2017–2018 season strong, finishing second at the Finlandia Trophy. He then made his debut in the senior Grand Prix series.

At the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Vincent performed seven quadruple jumps in his programs. He won the bronze medal, just missing the silver by a tiny amount.

Because of his strong performance, Vincent was chosen to be part of the U.S. Olympic figure skating team for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. On February 16, he made history by landing the first-ever quadruple Lutz jump at the Olympics! He finished sixth overall in the men's event.

In April 2018, Vincent shared that he had a new exhibition program to the song "Take On Me" by A-ha. He said he loved the song after reading the book Ready Player One.

More Success and World Bronze

In the 2018–2019 season, Vincent continued to compete in the Grand Prix series. He won a silver medal at the 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy.

At the 2019 U.S. Championships, he won the silver medal. He was happy with his performance and looked forward to more competitions.

At the 2019 Four Continents Championships, Vincent scored his personal best in the short program and won the bronze medal. This was his first medal at a major ISU Championship.

Then, at the 2019 World Championships, Vincent earned a new season's best score in his free skate and won the bronze medal! He was very proud to have two strong performances. He also helped Team USA win the gold medal at the 2019 World Team Trophy.

Balancing Skating and College

For the 2019–2020 season, Vincent decided to train with Mie Hamada in Japan and Tammy Gambill in the U.S. He also started attending Brown University, hoping to balance his studies and skating.

He won a bronze medal at the 2019 CS U.S. Classic. However, he later withdrew from his Grand Prix events to focus on his midterm exams at college. In January 2020, he decided to take a year off from Brown University to focus fully on skating. He moved to Toronto to train with new coaches.

At the 2020 U.S. Championships, he finished fourth. He was chosen for the 2020 World Championships, but the event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Challenges and Comebacks

The pandemic made it hard for Vincent to train in Toronto, so he returned to Colorado Springs and his former coaches. He competed at 2020 Skate America and won a silver medal, his first Grand Prix medal! He was proud of his performance despite some mistakes.

At the 2021 U.S. Championships, he won another silver medal. He then went to the 2021 World Championships but had a tough time in the short program and did not qualify for the free skate. This meant the U.S. team had to work harder to get enough spots for the next Olympics.

Olympic Gold and World Bronze Again

Vincent started the 2021–2022 season by winning the Cranberry Cup. He then secured a third Olympic spot for the U.S. team by winning the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy.

At 2021 Skate America, Vincent skated two clean programs, landing five quadruple jumps in his free skate. He won the gold medal, which was a big surprise because he beat his teammate Nathan Chen, who had been undefeated for over three years! Vincent said he focused on being well-prepared, and that made "the seemingly impossible become possible."

He then competed at the 2021 NHK Trophy, where he won a silver medal. His results qualified him for the Grand Prix Final, but it was canceled due to new travel restrictions.

At the 2022 U.S. Championships, Vincent placed second in the short program but struggled in the free skate, finishing third overall. Despite this, he was named to his second U.S. Olympic team.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Vincent competed in the team event. He skated well in the men's free skate, helping the U.S. team win the gold medal! However, after his performance, he tested positive for COVID-19 and had to withdraw from the individual men's event. He was very disappointed but grateful for the team gold.

After the Olympics, Vincent competed at the 2022 World Championships in France. He placed sixth in the short program but rallied in the free skate to win his second World bronze medal! He said he was still upset about missing the individual Olympic event but was thankful for the chance to compete at Worlds.

In 2024, a special medal ceremony was held at the Paris Olympics where Vincent and his teammates officially received their gold medals from the 2022 Olympic Figure Skating Team Event. Vincent has indicated he will focus on his studies for now but might return to skating in the future.

Images for kids

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  Zhou at the 2015–16 Junior Grand Prix Final

See also

In Spanish: Vincent Zhou para niños