Meet Eunice Lee: From Duke University to Milan 2026

MILAN, ITALY. (WITN) - Eunice Lee, a Senior at Duke University, will make her Olympic debut with Team USA as the short track speed skating competition will start on February 14th.

For most college students in the Triangle area, their focus is centered around homework, internships, and life on campus, but for Lee, her focus shifts between the classroom and the rink with the hopes of making her Olympic dreams come true.

In an interview with US Speedskating, Lee states, “It’s a lot, I’ve always had a high standard for myself academically. I’m focusing on my academics and test performance and, on top of that, getting my training programs in and keeping myself healthy”.

In pursuit of the pre-med track, Lee is majoring in both chemistry and biology.

The Lee family grew up on the rink. Her younger sister, Grace, is a member of the U.S. short track team. Lee was born in San Diego, California, and then grew up in Bellevue, Washington, while also spending two years of her childhood in South Korea, but still, skating remained a constant in her life. Eventually, this led her to heavily consider her speed skating career when choosing to attend Duke University. After meeting with deans from every school on her list, she found that Duke would support her the best in her balance of school and skating.

Lee competes in the women’s 3,000-meter relay, an event driven by endurance, explosive power, precision, and positioning the body in a way that aims to be aerodynamic. When discussing her love of the sport with WCNC, Lee smiles to herself as she says, “I like that there are more things I can control in terms of my strategy, my planning, and racing instead of just, you know, being the strongest or the fastest one every time…that was what drew me to short track I would say.”

The level of precision that is required for speed skating can also be found within the world of chemistry and biology, a world where strategy is a necessity.

At the age of 17, she began her Olympic journey as a relay alternate and the youngest member of Team USA’s short track speed skating team, traveling with them to the Beijing games in 2022. Even though she didn’t compete, it built a drive toward the Milan Olympics.

Going into the 2024 world championships, Lee played a vital role in the team’s success, taking home the world championships silver medal, the first world medal for the American women in the event since 2012. Her following season was cut short due to a devastating ankle injury, requiring Lee to take about nine months off. During that time, her determination and yearning to grow prevailed.

She used her months of work in physical therapy to learn more about her body and the various reactions that can occur while skating.

With a larger grasp on her unique strengths and weaknesses, Lee went on to help lead the U.S. women’s speed skating team to a third place finish during the 2025-2026 ISU Short Track World Tour in Dordrecht, Netherlands, qualifying them for Milan Cortina 2026.

Follow Eunice Lee as she competes in the Women’s 3,000 meter speed skating relay:

• Women’s 3,000m relay semifinals: Saturday, Feb. 14 at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT (Peacock)

• Women’s 3,000m relay final B: Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 2:50 p.m. ET/11:50 a.m. PT (Peacock)

• Women’s 3,000m relay final A: Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 2:59 p.m. ET/11:59 a.m. PT (Peacock)

This story is part of a collaboration between WITN and UNC-Chapel Hill journalism students reporting at the Winter Olympics.