The Bay Area will be well-represented at the 2022 Winter Olympics with figure skaters Vincent Zhou, Karen Chen and Alysa Liu competing for Team USA in Beijing.
Zhou, who made his first Olympic appearance in 2018, was born in San Jose and calls Palo Alto home.
The 21-year-old Olympian began skating at the age of 5 at a friend’s birthday party, and later trained with the Skating Club of San Francisco. Zhou was named the youngest U.S. junior champion in 2013 and secured a world junior title in 2017, according to Team USA.
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Chen made her first Olympic appearance in 2018, placing 11th. The 22-year-old skater was born in Fremont, a Bay Area town home to another Olympian – gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi.
Liu, who grew up in Richmond, began skating at the age of 5, and now at 16 – she’ll represent the U.S. on the Olympic world stage.
2022 Winter Olympics
Despite a COVID-19 diagnosis earlier this month, the skater secured a spot on Team USA. At just 16, the East Bay native has won two national titles – one when she was only 13-years-old. The teenage Olympian has also been called the “Simone Biles of Figure Skating,” something she calls a “really big honor."
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