HANOI (VnExpress): Eileen Gu, a two-time Olympic champion and the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history, has shared a series of photos from her graduation ceremony at Stanford University after balancing elite sports and academic study for four years.
In a post on her Instagram on June 14, Gu, a 22-year-old runway model and the only action-sport athlete to win three medals apiece at two Olympic Games, is seen wearing her graduation gown, holding up her diploma, and posing on campus. She graduated with a major in International Relations.
Her post quickly attracted attention from fans and has so far garnered 566,000 reactions and almost 2,700 comments, with most people congratulating and praising her.
"Beautiful, radiant and intelligent," read a comment that attracted 2,753 reactions.
Gu, named among the Top Most Influential People in Sports 2026 by TIME Magazine, was accepted into Stanford through early admission at the end of 2020.
She deferred enrollment to focus on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics before officially beginning her studies in the autumn of 2022.
During her time at the university, Gu maintained a packed schedule, competing in international events, modeling, and fulfilling brand partnerships. She has previously noted that balancing fashion, academics, and sports felt like managing three full-time jobs simultaneously.
At Stanford, she initially explored quantum physics and considered it a serious academic path due to her interest in the sciences.
"The theoretical part, the conceptual part, is very stimulating and interesting to me," she told AP in a 2024 interview.
She attributes her interest to what she calls her "nerd heritage." Gu's mother, Yan, also studied at Stanford in chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology, while her father graduated from Harvard University.
Later, Gu switched her major to International Relations.
Born in San Francisco in 2003, Gu became a global sports sensation at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Winning two gold medals and one silver at the age of 18, she was affectionately nicknamed the "Snow Princess."
Beyond sports, Gu is a prominent figure in international fashion. After the 2026 Olympics, she appeared at major events such as the Met Gala and the Monaco Grand Prix before returning to Stanford for her graduation ceremony.
In a New York Times report in February, Lauren Koong, Gu's roommate and classmate at Stanford, described the American-born Chinese athlete as "truly one of the smartest people I have ever met in my entire life."
Koong, who simply considers Gu a friend, said Stanford professors treated Gu like any other student.
Most courses have strict attendance requirements, and missed classes typically mean making up the work with additional papers. As a result, Gu has written many assignments while traveling, often on airplanes or in the makeup chair before events.
Despite balancing elite-level skiing with demanding coursework, she never missed an assignment.
"When she’s at school, she’s locked in at school," said Koong. "When she’s competing, she’s so focused." -- VnExpress
