Throughout the 25-year history of the "Road to Olympia" program, many pairs of siblings have participated together, including Phan Minh Duc (10th year) and Phan Thi Phuong Thao (13th year). Recently, a photo of this sibling pair was shared and attracted a lot of attention online.

This is a childhood photo of siblings Phan Minh Duc and Phan Thi Phuong Thao. Photo: Provided by the family.

Phan Minh Duc (born in 1992, a former physics student at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for Gifted Students) participated in the 10th season of the "Road to Olympia" competition and excelled, reaching the final round last year, overcoming three other contestants to win the championship. This achievement made Duc the first student from Hanoi to win the "Road to Olympia" competition after 10 editions.

Phan Minh Duc, champion of the 10th season of the "Road to Olympia" competition. Photo: Provided by the contestant.

Meanwhile, Phuong Thao (born in 1995, a former student of Tran Phu High School - Hoan Kiem, Hanoi) participated in the 13th season of the "Road to Olympia" program and reached the monthly round. Although she did not follow in her brother's footsteps, Phuong Thao's journey still made a positive impression on the audience.

Phan Phuong Thao participated in the 13th season of the "Road to Olympia" program and reached the monthly round. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Many people jokingly say that it's a very ordinary photo, but few guys can "imitate" it.

Netizens have unearthed adorable photos of the two brothers together.

After winning the 10th season of the "Road to Olympia" competition, Phan Minh Duc went to Australia to study Finance and Accounting at Swinburne University with a $35,000 scholarship. Graduating with honors, Duc received an offer for postgraduate research and was directly admitted to a PhD program in Energy Economics at Swinburne University, Australia. The winner of the 10th season of "Road to Olympia" also teaches Principles of Economics.

Phan Minh Đức, the champion of the 10th season of the "Road to Olympia" competition. Photo: Provided by the contestant.

However, after 2.5 years, Minh Duc decided to stop his PhD studies because he felt the field was not a good fit for him. In June 2022, Duc switched to pursuing a Master's degree in Enterprise Information Systems, focusing on digital transformation. Duc said he wanted to work in the field of education and help young people develop a proper understanding of their future career paths. In 2024, Duc returned to Vietnam and is currently the Academic Director of the Future Me Education System. As for Phuong Thao, after the competition, she led a rather private life and got married in 2018.

Phuong Thao held her wedding in 2018. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Speaking to VietNamNet , Minh Duc said he was quite surprised to suddenly receive so much attention and interest in a childhood photo of himself and his sister. In an interview in 2022, Minh Duc shared that many people mistakenly believe that the "Road to Olympia" competition is a search for academic talent, when in reality it is simply a knowledge-based competition for students.

Phan Minh Duc poses for a photo with the contestants participating in the final round of the 24th season of the "Road to Olympia" competition. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Phan Minh Duc believes that while he may be an Olympia champion in Vietnam, in Australia he is just an ordinary international student like thousands of others, still having to strive and work hard every day. “The distance between being a top student and achieving success is very far and depends on many factors. Therefore, I hope everyone will look at the competition from a more relaxed perspective and have lower expectations so that the laurel wreath, when the contestants wear it, will carry less of a ‘weight’,” Minh Duc said.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/quan-quan-duong-len-dinh-olympia-tung-bo-hoc-tien-si-ve-nuoc-hien-ra-sao-2351743.html