Because he's also a Mathematician in the Olympics, similar to (but not as successful) as Mrs. Kiesenhofer.
We like when nerds are not completely 1 dimensional.
Hmm, I've got a friend who won the German championship in their sport (watersport, individual) and went on to get a PhD in math, so maybe that's why the idea of both being a successful sportsman and following an academic career was not exactly foreign to me. Thanks for replying!