US skater Vincent Zhou out of weeklong COVID-19 quarantine

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American figure skater Vincent Zhou is out of quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 at the Beijing Games, and he plans to perform in the exhibition gala that traditionally closes the Olympic program on Sunday.

Zhou had just helped the U.S. win team silver on Feb. 7 when he got a phone call saying that he had tested positive. He was immediately whisked away to a quarantine hotel about 30 minutes from the Olympic Village, where he spent about a week locked in his room doing workouts, listening to music and "watching Netflix for the first time."

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The timing of the result, the day before the men's short program, left him no choice but to withdraw from the event.

Vincent Zhou, of the United States, competes in the men's team free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Beijing.  (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

"The symptoms I did have were honestly lighter than your average cold or flu," Zhou said. "It felt like a mild cold. I think the worst thing was probably a sore throat and some congestion. Like, that was the worst of it."

Zhou said he didn't watch the men's program because "it was too emotionally difficult," but he kept track of the results and was happy to see his teammates perform well. Nathan Chen won the gold medal with his memorable free skate to Elton John's "Rocket Man," while Jason Brown finished in a respectable sixth place.

"It also was difficult to see the results because I knew I could medal," said Zhou, who was fifth at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. "I'd been training consistently at a level to score like that and win a bronze