Stanford Online High School

Every AthleteHas a StoryWorth Sharing

A student-run podcast featuring student-athletes and alumni of Stanford Online High School. Each episode is a conversation about training, competition, setbacks, and what it takes to pursue a sport seriously alongside a demanding online education.

Listen on Spotify Meet the Hosts
15+
Episodes
3
Olympians Interviewed
10+
Sports Featured
1
Worldwide Community

Olympic Athletes

Guests Who Have Competed at the Olympics

Three guests have competed at the Olympic Games. Each conversation covers how they qualified and what the preparation required.

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Adrian Yung
Alpine Skiing · 2x Winter Olympian · Hong Kong
The youngest two-time winter Olympian from Hong Kong. He qualified for the Games in under a year of serious training.
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Olivia Giaccio
Alpine Skiing · Olympian · OHS Alum '18
OHS class of 2018, Columbia grad, professional skier. She talks about what the road from OHS to the Olympics actually looked like.
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Evita Griskenas
Rhythmic Gymnastics · 2x Olympian · Team USA
Two-time Team USA Olympian and two-time USA Gymnastics Athlete of the Year. One of the most decorated rhythmic gymnasts in American history.

The Community

A Single School, Spread Across the World

Stanford OHS students compete in swimming, soccer, figure skating, tennis, rowing, skiing, fencing, and more, many at a national or international level, while completing one of the most demanding academic programs available online.

The school's structure makes that possible. A flexible, college-style schedule lets students train seriously without stepping away from their education, which is part of why so many committed athletes enroll.

What the school does not have is hallways, locker rooms, or sidelines, the places where students would normally pick up each other's stories. This podcast fills that gap.

Swimming Soccer Figure Skating Alpine Skiing Tennis Cycling Fencing Rowing Gymnastics Marathon Running Track & Field + More

All Episodes

The Athletes Behind the Stories

Latest Episode

Brit Richards: Chasing Athletic Dreams Against the Odds

Soccer · Wyoming · 45 min · June 2026

Brit is a full-time OHS student and an aspiring soccer player from Wyoming, where soccer is far from a major sport. She talks about how she got into the game, what it takes to train against the grain as she works toward playing in university, and how she keeps her athletic, academic, and social lives in balance.

Listen on Spotify
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Alpine Skiing

Adrian Yung

Alpine Skiing · Hong Kong · Hong Kong University · 51 min

Qualifying for the Olympics in One Year

Adrian is the youngest two-time Winter Olympian from Hong Kong. He breaks down what his training involved, the setbacks and rejections along the way, and how he prepared to race at the Olympic level in under a year.

▶ Listen
⛷️
Alpine Skiing

Melody Wong

Alpine Skiing · Hong Kong · OHS Class of 2031 · 1 hr

The Secrets to True Productivity

Melody races internationally and picked OHS because a normal school schedule would have made that impossible. She talks managing coursework across time zones, what goes through her head at the start gate, and why she compares skiing to F1 racing.

▶ Listen
🏔️
Moguls Skiing

Olivia Giaccio

Moguls Skiing · Utah · OHS Alum '18 · 49 min

Stories from OHS to the Olympics

OHS alum, Columbia grad, professional skier. Olivia shares what her time at OHS actually looked like, what it took to bounce back from injury more than once, and how she got to where she is today.

▶ Listen
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Figure Skating

Michael Jin

Figure Skating · Los Angeles · OHS Class of 2028 · 28 min

Balancing National Competitions and OHS Academics

Michael competes nationally and carries a full OHS course load at the same time. He talks about what that actually looks like week to week and his advice for other student-athletes trying to hold both things without letting either one slip.

▶ Listen
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Swimming

Samuel Bae

Swimming · Los Angeles · OHS Class of 2029 · 33 min

The Mental Game

Samuel talks about hitting a plateau, switching teams, and finding his way back to why he loves swimming. An honest look at what it feels like to race when your head is not in the right place, and why trusting the process matters more than any single result.

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Cycling

Vajra Vanukuri

Cycling · Bay Area · OHS Class of 2029 · 38 min

Chasing the Passion for Criterium

Vajra started crit racing relatively late and chose OHS so he could take it seriously. He talks about balancing training with coursework, why he focuses on what he can control right now rather than what he missed by starting late, and how he found a sport that actually fits who he is.

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Tennis

Harper Bruner

Tennis · Atlanta, Georgia · OHS Class of 2027 · 43 min

Getting Out of the Downward Spiral

Harper has competed in tennis for over a decade and chose OHS to keep her options open while training seriously. She opens up about injuries, mental slumps, what it took to come back from both, and what she learned going through the college recruiting process.

▶ Listen
🏃
Running

Boshen Zhang

Marathon & Ultramarathon · Vancouver · OHS Alum '26 · 43 min

The Mentality Behind Growth and Success

The host takes a turn in the guest seat. Boshen talks about how he deals with adversity and burnout, what actually helps with time management at OHS while training seriously, and how starting this podcast changed the way he thinks about sport and community.

▶ Listen
🤺
Fencing

Lanlan Huang

Fencing · Los Angeles · OHS Class of 2027 · 42 min

Finding Motivation in the Valleys

Lanlan took a long break from competitive fencing and had to find her way back. She talks about what actually helped her get motivated again, how she juggles a full OHS course load alongside training, and how she thinks about balance in a way that doesn't burn her out.

▶ Listen
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Figure Skating

Josephine Bae

Singles & Theater on Ice · Los Angeles · OHS Class of 2027 · 39 min

From a Birthday Party to National Championships

Josephine started skating at a birthday party and ended up preparing for US Nationals. She talks about how confidence became the thing that changed everything, how she handles injuries and pressure during a rigorous OHS semester, and what it means to compete nationally as a high schooler.

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Tennis

Yolaine Lefevre

Tennis · Los Angeles / Columbia University · OHS Alum '25 · 39 min

Recovering From Injuries and Getting Recruited

Yolaine played at some of the highest levels in the US and is heading to Columbia. She reflects on her career, how OHS gave her room to keep competing while staying on track academically, and what she actually learned going through the college recruiting process.

▶ Listen
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Soccer

Connor Decatur

MLS Next Goalkeeper · Bay Area / Amherst College · OHS Alum '26 · 43 min

Opportunities Appear in Unexpected Times

Connor grew up playing in Hong Kong, moved to the US, and chose OHS to stay on top of his academics during the recruiting process. He talks about pressure, uncertainty, what it's like competing in two completely different soccer cultures, and how everything he learned in sport carries over into school and life.

▶ Listen
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Rowing

Harrison Scarrow

Rowing · MIT · OHS Alum '25 · 40 min

Productivity, Sacrifice, and Getting Recruited to MIT

Harrison rows competitively and was recently recruited to MIT. He shares his productivity techniques, how he stays focused when he's in the pits, and what consciously balancing work and life has meant for his development as both an athlete and a person.

▶ Listen
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Swimming

Ryan Lin

Swimming · Caltech · OHS Alum '22 · 42 min

How Community Shapes an Athlete

Ryan swam through OHS and is now competing at Caltech. He talks about how his perspective on the sport has shifted over the years, why community has played a bigger role in his development than almost anything else, and his advice for OHS athletes heading into the college recruiting process.

▶ Listen
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Tennis

Kai Wang

Tennis · Princeton, NJ / Phillips Andover · Former OHS Student '27 · 40 min

Switching Sports and Starting Over

Kai set state records in swimming before switching to tennis and becoming nationally ranked. He talks about dealing with serious injury, what it took to improve rapidly in a new sport, and the lessons from that experience that go well beyond anything that shows up in a result.

▶ Listen
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Swimming

Cooper Dong

Swimming · New York City · OHS Class of 2027 · 30 min

Staying Consistent When Things Aren't Going to Plan

Cooper is ranked top 70 in New York and balancing swimming with a full OHS schedule. He talks about the mindset of constant improvement, how he finds motivation when things aren't clicking, and how he manages the pull between academics, athletics, and actually having a life.

▶ Listen

Why This Exists

More Than
Results

A scoreboard records the result. It leaves out the early-morning practices, the injuries that nearly ended a career, the moment someone considered quitting, and the race that finally came together after years of work. Those are the parts worth talking about.

At OHS, stories like these are common, but they rarely travel. With no hallways, locker rooms, or sidelines, a student can spend years without knowing what a classmate two time zones away has accomplished. The podcast exists to close that gap.

Each episode adds another of those stories to the record.

01
OHS draws a particular kind of student
Admission to OHS is competitive, and most students arrive with a clear sense of purpose. Many are also pursuing something significant outside the classroom, often a sport at a serious level. Little of that comes through in a live Adobe Connect class or a discussion thread. The podcast is how those pursuits become visible.
02
These stories have nowhere else to go
At a traditional school, news travels in passing: a recruitment, a comeback from injury, a strong result at a national meet. At OHS, none of that surfaces unless someone shares it directly. Students can go years without knowing what a classmate has accomplished. The podcast addresses that directly.
03
A strong result isn't the point
Three guests have competed at the Olympics, and others have been recruited to MIT, Columbia, and Caltech. But many of the most useful conversations have little to do with rankings. They focus on mindset, setbacks, and the reasons athletes keep going. Every guest has offered something worth hearing.

Don't Know Who to Choose?

Which OHS Athlete Are You?

Answer six quick questions and we'll point you to a guest, and the episode, worth starting with.

The Team

Meet the Hosts

The show is run by a small group of OHS athletes from different sports and backgrounds. Each host asks different questions and notices different things, which is part of why no two episodes sound quite the same.

Boshen Zhang
Founder

Boshen Zhang

Marathon & Ultramarathon · OHS Alum '26 · Williams College

Boshen competed in soccer for more than a decade before turning to marathon and ultramarathon running. He started the podcast after realizing how many accomplished athletes attended OHS without knowing one another's stories. In interviews he leans into the mental side, drawing out how guests handle adversity, burnout, and the long stretches between wins. He now studies at Williams College.

@boshen_zh
Cooper Dong
Co-Founder & Host

Cooper Dong

Swimming · New York City, USA · OHS Senior

Cooper is a senior at OHS and a competitive swimmer ranked among the top 70 in New York in his events, the 100 and 200 backstroke. He has helped expand the podcast and is working to grow the SOHS student-athlete committee, connecting more of the school's athletes to one another. On the mic, he digs into the day-to-day of training, motivation, and staying consistent when results stall.

@cooperrdong
Josephine Bae
Co-Founder & Host

Josephine Bae

Singles & Theater on Ice · Southern California, USA · OHS Senior

Josephine is a senior at OHS and a competitive figure skater in singles and Theater on Ice. She listens for the parts of a guest's story that go beyond results, the experiences that shaped them as athletes and as people, and brings those quieter moments to the surface.

@josephineibae

About the School

Stanford Online High School

Stanford Online High School is a selective independent school for grades 7 through 12, operated by Stanford University. Founded in 2006, it teaches academically advanced students through live, online seminar classes held on a college-style schedule.

The academic program is demanding. Courses run from rigorous middle school classes through early-college and college-equivalent material, and they meet as live discussions rather than recorded lectures. Students prepare the material in advance and arrive ready to defend their thinking, which means the workload is real and the standard is high.

That rigor is exactly why the podcast matters. The students featured here carry a serious athletic career on top of one of the most challenging course loads available to a high schooler. Balancing the two takes a level of discipline that rarely gets seen, and these conversations are where it comes through.

Learn more about Stanford OHS →
Coming Soon

An In-Person Athletics Meetup

We are planning our first in-person meetup for OHS student-athletes, alumni, and listeners, coming to the East Coast in fall 2026. The details are still coming together, so check back as the date gets closer.

Have questions? Email sohsathleticspodcast@gmail.com

Follow the Show

New Episodes, Regularly

Athletes at OHS train on their own schedules, in their own cities and time zones. The podcast brings those separate experiences together in one place.

New episodes are released regularly. Follow the show on Spotify to hear them first.

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