. >> for the first time in 30 years, not since brian boitano and debbie thomas has the bay area placed two figure skaters on team usa. garvin thomas joins us now with a touching story about one of them. >> terry, like many other skaters, vincent zhou's story to the olympics hasn't been a smooth one. when he was just 11, he struggled with terrible injuries that had him contemplating giving up the sport. by his side supporting him the whole time was his mother. not the first time she played a key role in his career. >> yeah. >> reporter: in just a matter of days vincent zhou will take center ice in pyeongchang to represent his country. it will be the most familiar, unfamiliar place he has ever been. vince vincent's body will have just arrived. his mind, though, has been there for years. >> i can't count the number of times that i've stood in my starting pose at the world arena, closed my eyes for a second and imagined that it's the olympic arena. >> reporter: his olympic shot is of course the result of years of training and hard work by vincent. but as he has gotten older and matured, he

i spoke to brian boitano before putin made his latest remarks. >> explain your process on this because you didn't know who was going to be on the delegation. when did you decide to make a statement? >> i saw. >> you know, the other people that were named to the delegation, billie jean king, caitlin cahow, both of whom are openly gay. and i read the message president obama was planning on sending with the delegation, that of tolerance and diversity. and i was like, wow, i believe in this message, but i knew at that point, i think i need to make a decision. i can stay the private guy that i've always been, or i can stand with these other people and be open about my private life and i decided to make the statement. >> there are some in the gay community, some not in the gay community, who believe there should be a boycott of the olympics, or that treats should carry a rainbow flag or a pin or make some sort of a statement. where do you come out on this? >> we should not have boycotted. athletes spend their entire life dreaming about representing our countries in the olympics, they put in