This year's Paris Olympics is packed with scholar-athletes; pick a random athlete and chances are they're alumni of a prestigious university.
Especially the US team, which has an extremely high density of Ivy League and top school graduates.
The Scholar-Athletes of the Paris Olympics
Jiang Minhui - Stanford University
Paris Olympics champion Jiang Minhui, dubbed the 'Lin Chi-ling of fencing', is also a brilliant scholar.
She earned her bachelor's degree from Stanford University and holds a Juris Doctor from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Pan Zhanle - Shanghai Jiao Tong University
At age 10, he set his sights on beating Sun Yang's records; at 20, he claimed Olympic swimming gold. The new 'Flying Fish' Pan Zhanle is a student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Pan Zhanle was recommended for admission to Jiao Tong University at 17, studying in the School of International and Public Affairs. His interviews not only shook up the European and American swimming world but also captivated international netizens.
Zheng Qinwen - Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Zheng Qinwen, who won the tennis singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics, is a star student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
Justin Best - Investment Banking Elite
26-year-old Justin Best is a Paris Olympics gold medalist in coxless rowing, a Drexel University graduate, and an investment banking analyst.
After winning gold, the Finance Bro wasted no time updating his LinkedIn.
Netizens: With a name like that, it's hard not to succeed 😂
Kristen Faulkner - Harvard University
Cyclist Kristen Faulkner, who won two golds at the Paris Olympics, is a true all-rounder.
She graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Computer Science, once rowed for Harvard's crew team, and holds the record for the Harvard women's lightweight 2000m indoor row. She attended the elite private high school Phillips Academy, where she was a swimmer and rower.
She worked on Wall Street and later at a venture capital firm in the Bay Area before starting competitive cycling in 2017. By 2023, she won the USA Road Race Championship, and at this year's Olympics, she claimed two gold medals.
With parents running a hotel and resort in Alaska, this rich and beautiful overachiever truly seems to have it all—one wonders which door God could possibly have closed for her.
Kate Douglass - University of Virginia
Gold medalist in the 200m breaststroke, Kate Douglass is an athlete from the University of Virginia. The 22-year-old Kate earned four medals in Paris: two golds and two silvers.
Kate is a Statistics major at UVA and previously worked as a data analyst for the swim team, earning her the title of 'the Olympic champion with the best statistics skills' from netizens.
Katie Ledecky - Stanford University
Katie Ledecky, a Stanford University graduate, is the world record holder in women's freestyle swimming, and at the Paris Olympics she won 2 golds, 1 silver, and 1 bronze.
Asher Hong - Stanford University
Asher Hong, who won a gymnastics bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, is a sophomore at Stanford.
He represented Stanford in the NCAA, helping the school secure multiple gymnastics team championships.
Xu Yifei and Xu Xinfang - UC Berkeley
Twin sisters Xu Yifei and Xu Xinfang, a Chinese-American duo from the Bay Area, represented the U.S. in badminton doubles at this Olympics.
They graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in Economics and work at a Big Four accounting firm.
Zhang Siyang - Stanford University
Chinese-American golfer Zhang Siyang, a sophomore at Stanford, is on the US team.
She won the NCAA Division I championship two years running and is ranked the world's top amateur women's golfer.
Additionally, there are Chinese-American table tennis players Amy Wang and Rachel Sung from UCLA.
Fencing athlete Malak Hamza and rower Isak Žvegelj from the University of Pennsylvania.
The Olympic Sports Powerhouses
Netizens sigh: The US team is overflowing with elite university talent; the Olympics feel like a college league 😂
According to the NCAA, 1,238 current, former, and incoming NCAA athletes are representing their countries at this year's Olympics.
Among the 592 athletes representing Team USA at the Paris Olympics, a staggering 66% (393 athletes) come from NCAA schools.
Among them, Stanford, University of California, and USC lead by a large margin, with especially high medal counts.
The top 5 US universities in the Paris Olympics medal standings are:
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Stanford University: 12 gold, 11 silver, 11 bronze
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University of California system: 4 gold, 6 silver, 7 bronze
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University of Texas: 7 gold, 7 silver, 3 bronze
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University of Virginia: 7 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze
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University of Southern California: 6 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze
The Sports Tradition of US Universities
The NCAA hosts various national championships each year, playing a central role in US college sports and serving as a major talent pipeline for professional athletics.
Stanford Cardinal, UCLA Bruins, and USC Trojans are dominant forces in the NCAA, each having won over a hundred national championships and supplying top-tier athletes to the Olympics.
College sports are also a crucial talent reservoir for professional leagues; many NBA and NFL stars first made their mark in college competitions.
American universities, especially the Ivy League, have a long-standing sports tradition. For example, Harvard and Yale began intercollegiate athletic competitions as early as the late 19th century, not only carrying on historical traditions but also strengthening friendships and rivalries among institutions.
Moreover, US universities offer generous scholarships to attract talented athletes. According to data from the Harvard Crimson, the acceptance rate for recruited athletes is as high as 86%, even surpassing the 34% for legacy applicants, and far above the regular admission rate of 3.4%.
When applying to top US undergraduate institutions, comprehensive strength is especially valued, including extracurricular activities, sports, etc. Standardized GPAs are a hard threshold, but outstanding hobbies or athletic achievements can also make an applicant stand out.
The importance of a strong background is self-evident; it is recommended that students plan early and seek ways to strengthen their profile when applying. While persisting in your interests, you may well receive an offer from your dream school!
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