The Next Big Thing: Rafael Gu

If you’re involved in the swimming scene at SAS, then you’ll know Rafael Gu ’22. This Puxi campus senior has broken a bunch of records in the years he’s been swimming competitively, and come next fall, he’s jetting off to Stanford where he’s looking forward to train and compete against some of the best in the pool.

Welcome to our WeChat series where we celebrate just a few stories from the Class of 2022.

Tell us about what you’ll be doing at Stanford.

I’ve been recruited to join Stanford’s Men’s Swimming Program, graduating in the year 2026. It’s a very competitive program; for the past couple of years, they’ve recruited people who have actually gone on to compete in the Olympics, so the training will be tough.

How was the recruiting process like? What were some of the schools you spoke to?

For swimming, it usually officially starts towards the end of someone’s sophomore year, in the summer. Before that, coaches can’t really directly contact you, but you can swim at big meets like the Junior Nationals or Nationals, and that’s how you attract their attention.

During the recruitment period, coaches from different schools will reach out to you to talk to you, to ask if you’re interested in connecting, if you’re interested in their school. So I was in communication with a lot of these coaches. They’re looking to see how they feel about me, if I’d be a good fit for their program, and I’m doing the same.

I was lucky that I had a lot of really good schools that were interested in me…UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Princeton… Towards the end, it was down to just two schools. I was doing a lot of my own research too, and ultimately decided on Stanford. It was important to me how I felt about the team and the coaches themselves. I’m going to be spending the next four years of my life with them, so it was important that I felt good about them, that I felt like it was going to be a good fit.

What are you looking forward to the most about college?

I think the social aspect. In college, there’s going to be a lot of clubs, and for me as an athlete, there’s going to be a lot of different sports, so I’ll get to meet a lot of new people. I’ll get to train with a lot of different people too. Aside from swimming, Stanford also has a diving program, so I’m going to get to know people on both the swimming and diving teams. There’s going to be a lot of international students too…people from different backgrounds with different experiences. It’s very diverse. I think it’s going to be a very fun part of my life.

And what will you miss most about SAS and Shanghai?

Of course, all my friends. And also the all the people who have supported me along the way, like Coach Biros and all my teachers, my peers. It’s such a supportive place. I’ll miss the swim team, I feel that we’re very united. We do a lot of things together; for example, we’ll be having the Secret Santa Christmas party soon, which I’m really looking forward to. As for Shanghai, I think I’ll miss how convenient life is here.

What will you be working on, both in the short term as well as the long?

My short term goal right now is to get my time close to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Men’s A Cut, and my long term goal is to hopefully go to the Asian Games, and maybe even compete in the Olympics.

Anything you want to say to young, aspiring swimmers?

This isn’t just for swimmers, but for anyone who is passionate about a sport. Go after what you really like. You don’t necessarily have to be the best at that sport, as long as you enjoy it and find meaning out of it.

When I first joined SAS’ swim team, I was actually quite slow. I think I was the second to last person on the team then. But even though I didn’t score high, I didn’t mind, because I really enjoyed swimming with my friends.

That’s the most important thing about being an athlete—enjoying the sport and being willing to work hard for it.

Congrats on getting into your dream school and dream team, Rafael! Stanford is incredibly lucky to have such a passionate and driven athlete in their pools.

Our seniors are off to amazing places around the world, and we are excited to be sharing those stories. Keep an eye out for our next edition of “The Next Big Thing”.