Winners of Vietnam’s iconic gameshow are thriving in top companies and academia worldwide.
After claiming victory and continuing their academic journeys, past champions of Road to Mount Olympia are now working and thriving in various fields both in Vietnam and abroad.
Phan Minh Duc, champion of Season 10 of Road to Mount Olympia.
At the 25th anniversary celebration of Road to Mount Olympia, themed “Shining Stars of Hope” and broadcast on the evening of October 18, viewers were reunited with many familiar champion faces, some of whom were once icons for young people. Many of them have changed in appearance over the years, yet they still embody the enthusiastic, spirited “Olympia” mindset.
After winning Season 10 of Olympia, Phan Minh Duc graduated from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia in 2015 and returned to Vietnam to launch a startup in 2021. Since then, he has co-founded Future Me Technology and Education JSC.
“When I decided to return to Vietnam, it was like placing a star of hope. Staying abroad or coming back is a personal decision, but once you've made it, you have to live with it,” shared Phan Minh Duc.
Ho Dac Thanh Chuong, champion of Season 16.
Ho Dac Thanh Chuong, the Season 16 champion, also graduated from Swinburne University in 2022. Since 2023, he has been working at Google in Sydney, Australia.
“National and international academic competitions in high school focus on depth-intensive knowledge in one subject. Olympia was very different; it focused on breadth,” Chuong explained.
“When working at large companies, early career roles require depth, but as you move up, breadth becomes more important. That breadth-knowledge, awareness, and spirit-is the core of Olympia.
Currently at Google, success in a team requires collaboration. Every individual must know how to cooperate, leverage each other’s strengths and experiences. If there is any competition, it’s about whether you’ve become better today than you were yesterday, and how to be better tomorrow than you are today,” he added.
Phan Manh Tan, champion of the 2nd season of The Road to Mount Olympia.
Phan Manh Tan, the Season 2 champion, completed his PhD in Information Technology after majoring in Computer Science. He was hired by IBM, the multinational technology corporation based in the U.S., immediately after graduation.
Currently, he serves as the Chief Solutions Architect for Digital Experience in the Asia-Pacific region at HCL Software.
“Everything changes so fast now. What you learn today might not matter tomorrow. With technology advancing rapidly, the most important skill is the ability to learn new things and adapt to new trends,” Tan said.
Phan Dang Nhat Minh, champion of Season 17, emphasized: “We live in a very open world now, and everyone has access to many opportunities to grow. So young people shouldn’t let anything stop them from pursuing their dreams.”
Phan Dang Nhat Minh, champion of Season 17.
Champions like Nguyen Thi Thu Hang (Season 20), Nguyen Hoang Khanh (Season 21), Dang Le Nguyen Vu (Season 22), Le Xuan Manh (Season 23), and Vo Quang Phu Duc (Season 24) are currently pursuing their studies at Swinburne University in Australia.
Beyond the champions, many former contestants from previous years have also made remarkable achievements in their chosen fields.
For instance, Ngo Thi Minh Thuy, a contestant in Season 2, is now an associate professor at the Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University (USA).
The champions of Road to Mount Olympia from Seasons 20 to 24.
Dang Viet Dung, who competed in Season 4, served as General Director of Uber Vietnam from 2014 to 2018 and has been the founder and CEO of Nano Vietnam Technology Services Co., Ltd. since 2019.
Nguyen Thanh Tung, a contestant from the very first season, is now a lecturer in Artificial Intelligence at Texas A&M University (USA).
Over the past 25 years, with more than 1,300 episodes and over 3,500 contestants, Olympia has become a symbol of intellectual pride and remains the longest-running gameshow on Vietnam Television.
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