Vincent Zhou, the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic team at 17, became the first figure skater in Olympics history to land a quadruple Lutz Friday in the men’s short program, but he’s hardly a typical athlete, or teenager.
“For me, I feel like my age is just a number,” he said after his strong Olympic debut. “I’m not a typical 17-year-old. I don’t go to Starbucks and order the newest cappuccino. I don’t spend my time vaping with friends. I prefer to stay home and read and reflect and just kind of do calm things that I enjoy doing. It helps me be more mature and feel older than I actually am.”
But at times, he’s still a kid. After the six-minute warm-up before his turn to skate, Zhou said he sat down backstage.
"I was trying to remember to breath. My entire life ran through my head.”
All 17 years of it.
When asked about his Olympic experience so far, he gave a gold-medal-winning answer.
“The wildest moment so far is being blown around by the wind, especially because I weigh 130 pounds. If it had blown any harder, I would probably have a concussion.”
