‘I Have Followed the Rules’: Vincent Zhou Lashes Out After Not Being Allowed to March With Team USA at Closing Ceremony of Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

American figure skater Vincent Zhou will leave the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 with a silver team event medal. However, his exit from the Olympics wasn’t all roses, as it was quite the unceremonious one.

On the final day of the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022, every Olympian left in Beijing attended the closing ceremony. In fact, the ceremony itself was quite the flashy one, with the IOC leaving no stone unturned in making it memorable.

Sadly, Vincent Zhou was unable to march alongside his Team USA at the closing ceremony. The authorities restricted him from the march, and he took to Instagram to express his disappointment.

Vincent Zhou could not march for Team USA at the closing ceremony

Vincent Zhou truly can not catch a break at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022. Zhou had tested positive for the coronavirus towards the start of the games, after helping Team USA win a silver medal.

However, he was unable to compete in his individual events, where he was a clear title contender. Subsequently, he quarantined himself in Beijing and was barred from participating.

Later on, he had managed to beat the disease and came out of isolation. Thus, Zhou was able to perform at the exhibition gala and put on a beautiful performance. Sadly, when it came time for Zhou to leave for the stadium for marching for Team USA, authorities that perform regular health screenings flagged Zhou as a “close contact” risk.

In fact, Vincent Zhou stated that he had “tested negative 14 times in a row”. He claimed that he was “not contagious whatsoever”. Furthermore, he also claimed that he “would be the least at risk of transmitting to others”.

“I have followed the rules and done as required with no question for as long as the rules have existed,” Zhou wrote in his Instagram stories.

Zhou is proud to represent the USA

Despite everything that has happened, Vincent Zhou expressed that he is proud to have represented his country. “It has been the honor of my life to represent Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Olympics,”  he wrote.

He also praised his teammates, calling them “incredible”. Moreover, he expressed his gratitude “for the opportunities that came (his) way during these Games”.

Then, addressing all Olympians marching for their countries, Zhou wished “nothing but the best”. Regarding his teammates, Zhou stated that he was “happy and proud to know they are out there embodying everything Team USA represents and having the time of their lives.”

Even though Vincent Zhou was unable to attend the march alongside his compatriots, he is certainly taking the situation like the champion he is.

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