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Palo Alto's Vincent Zhou to Make Olympic Debut in Figure Skating

It's finally time for Palo Alto's Vincent Zhou.

The soft spoken 17-year-old figure skater on Friday (Thursday in the United States) will take the ice at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

[NBCO-GalleryFeed] Vincent Zhou's Childhood Photos

The excited teen says once a day he finds himself in awe just to be competing at the Olympic Games, but he also reminds himself to stay focused.

"I think things are feeling pretty good," he said. "I'm feeling just that little bit stronger than I felt at nationals. I felt pretty good at nationals, but here I feel like I have a little more confidence, especially my ability to do clean programs."

[NBCO-GalleryFeed] Model Olympian: Vincent Zhou

Zhou came in third place at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships last month in San Jose. That finish was good enough to earn him a spot on Team USA.

He's not considered by many to be a medal threat, but he does do more quad jumps than anyone except gold medal favorite and fellow American Nathan Chen.

To watch Garvin Thomas' video, click here.

Figure skating coverage kicks off at 5 p.m. PST Thursday. Catch the action on NBC or watch the livestream.

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