International Mathematical Olympiad
Encyclopedia
The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is an annual six-problem, 42-point mathematical olympiad for pre-collegiate
students and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiad
s. The first IMO was held in Romania
in 1959. It has since been held annually, except in 1980. About 100 countries send teams of up to six students, plus one team leader, one deputy leader, and observers. Ever since its inception in 1959, the olympiad has developed a rich legacy and has established itself as the pinnacle of mathematical competition among high school students.
The content ranges from extremely difficult precalculus problems to problems on branches of mathematics not conventionally covered at school and often not at university level either, such as projective
and complex geometry, functional equations and well-grounded number theory, of which extensive knowledge of theorems is required. Calculus, though allowed in solutions, is never required, as there is a principle at play that anyone with a basic understanding of mathematics should understand the problems, even if the solutions require a great deal more knowledge. Supporters of this principle claim that this allows more universality and creates an incentive to find elegant, deceptively simple-looking problems which nevertheless require a certain level of ingenuity.
The selection process differs by country, but it often consists of a series of tests which admit fewer students at each progressing test. Awards are given to a top percentage of the individual contestants. Teams are not officially recognized—all scores are given only to individual contestants, but team scoring is unofficially compared more so than individual scores. Contestants must be under the age of 20 and must not be registered at any tertiary institution. Subject to these conditions, an individual may participate any number of times in the IMO.
in 1959. Since then it has been held every year except 1980. That year, it was cancelled due to internal strife in Mongolia
. It was initially founded for eastern Europe
an countries participating in the Warsaw Pact
, under the Soviet bloc of influence, but eventually other countries participated as well. Because of this eastern origin, the earlier IMOs were hosted only in eastern European countries, and gradually spread to other nations.
Sources differ about the cities hosting some of the early IMOs. This may be partly because leaders are generally housed well away from the students, and partly because after the competition the students did not always stay based in one city for the rest of the IMO. The exact dates cited may also differ, because of leaders arriving before the students, and at more recent IMOs the IMO Advisory Board arriving before the leaders.
Several students, such as Christian Reiher
, have performed exceptionally well on the IMO, scoring multiple gold medals. Others, such as Grigory Margulis
and Grigori Perelman
, have gone on to become notable mathematician
s. Several former participants have won awards such as the Fields medal
.
In January 2011, Google gifted $1 million to the International Mathematical Olympiad organization. The donation will help the organization cover the costs of the next five global events (2011–2015).
, number theory
, algebra
, and combinatorics
. They require no knowledge of higher mathematics such as calculus
and analysis
, and solutions are often short and elementary. However, they are usually disguised so as to make the process of finding the solutions difficult. Prominently featured are algebraic inequalities, complex numbers, and construction-oriented geometrical problems, though in previous years the latter has not been as popular as before.
Each participating country, other than the host country, may submit suggested problems to a Problem Selection Committee provided by the host country, which reduces the submitted problems to a shortlist. The team leaders arrive at the IMO a few days in advance of the contestants and form the IMO Jury which is responsible for all the formal decisions relating to the contest, starting with selecting the six problems from the shortlist. The Jury aims to select the problems so that the order in increasing difficulty is Q1, Q4, Q2, Q5, Q3 and Q6. As the leaders know the problems in advance of the contestants, they are kept strictly separated and observed.
Each country's marks are agreed between that country's leader and deputy leader and coordinators provided by the host country (the leader of the team whose country submitted the problem in the case of the marks of the host country), subject to the decisions of the chief coordinator and ultimately a jury if any disputes cannot be resolved.
The selection process for the IMO varies greatly by country. In some countries, especially those in east Asia
, the selection process involves several difficult tests of a difficulty comparable to the IMO itself. The Chinese contestants go through a camp, which lasts from March 16 to April 2. In others, such as the USA, possible participants go through a series of easier standalone competitions that gradually increase in difficulty. In the case of the USA, the tests include the American Mathematics Competitions
, the American Invitational Mathematics Examination
, and the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad
, each of which is a competition in its own right. For high scorers on the final competition for the team selection, there also is a summer camp, like that of China.
The former Soviet Union and other eastern European countries' selection process consists of choosing a team several years beforehand, and giving them special training specifically for the event. However, such methods have been discontinued in some countries. In Ukraine
, for instance, selection tests consist of four olympiads comparable to the IMO by difficulty and schedule. While identifying the winners, only the results of the current selection olympiads are considered.
Special prizes may be awarded for solutions of outstanding elegance or involving good generalisations of a problem. This last happened in 2005, 1995 and 1988, but was more frequent up to the early 1980s. The special prize in 2005 was awarded to a student from Moldova who came up with a brilliant solution to question 3, which was an inequality involving three variables. He was one of only three students to achieve a perfect score for that paper.
The rule that at most half the contestants win a medal is sometimes broken if adhering to it causes the number of medals to deviate too much from half the number of contestants. This last happened in 2010 when the choice was to give either 226 (43%) or 266 (51%) of the 517 (excluding the 6 from North Korea—see below) contestants a medal. The ratio of gold to silver to bronze medals is generally 1:2:3, respectively.
was disqualified for cheating at the 32nd IMO in 1991 and the 51st IMO in 2010.
Four nations have achieved an all-members-gold IMO with a full team:
The only countries to have their entire teams score perfectly on the IMO were the United States, which won IMO 1994 when it accomplished this, coached by Paul Zeitz
, and Luxembourg, whose 1-member team got a perfect score in IMO 1981. The USA's success earned a mention in TIME Magazine. Hungary won IMO 1975 in an unorthodox way when none of the eight team members received a gold medal (five silver, three bronze). Second place team East Germany also did not have a single gold medal winner (four silver, four bronze).
Several individuals have consistently scored highly and/or earned medals on the IMO: Reid Barton
(United States
) was the first participant to win a gold medal four times (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001). Barton is also one of only seven four-time Putnam Fellow (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004). In addition, he is the only person to have won both the IMO and the International Olympiad in Informatics
(IOI). Christian Reiher
and Lisa Sauermann
(both Germany
) are the only other participants to have won four gold medals (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 resp. 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011); Sauermann also received a silver medal (2007) and Reiher a bronze medal (1999). Wolfgang Burmeister (East Germany), Martin Härterich (West Germany
), Iurie Boreico (Moldova
) and Teodor von Burg (Serbia
) are the only other participants besides Reiher and Sauermann to win five Medals with at least three of them gold. Ciprian Manolescu
(Romania) managed to write a perfect paper (42 points) for gold medal more times than anybody else in history of competition, doing it all three times he participated in the IMO (1995, 1996, 1997). Manolescu is also a three-time Putnam Fellow (1997, 1998, 2000). Evgenia Malinnikova (Soviet Union
) is the highest-scoring female contestant in IMO history. She has 3 gold medals in IMO 1989 (41 points), IMO 1990 (42) and IMO 1991 (42), missing only 1 point in 1989 to precede Manolescu's achievement. Oleg Golberg (Russia/USA) is the only participant in IMO history to win gold medals for different countries: he won two for Russia in 2002 and 2003, then one for USA in 2004.
Terence Tao
(Australia) participated in IMO 1986, 1987 and 1988, winning bronze, silver and gold medals respectively. He won a gold medal when he just turned thirteen in IMO 1988, becoming the youngest person to receive a gold medal. Tao also holds the distinction of being the youngest medalist with his 1986 bronze medal, alongside 2009 bronze medalist Raúl Chávez Sarmiento
(Peru), at the age of 10 and 11 respectively. Representing the United States, Noam Elkies
won a gold medal with a perfect paper at the age of 14 in 1981. Note that both Elkies and Tao could have participated in the IMO multiple times following their success, but entered university and therefore became ineligible.
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
students and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiad
International Science Olympiad
The International Science Olympiads are a group of worldwide annual competitions in various areas of science. The competitions are designed for the 4-6 best high school students from each participating country selected through internal National Science Olympiads, with the exception of the IOL,...
s. The first IMO was held in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
in 1959. It has since been held annually, except in 1980. About 100 countries send teams of up to six students, plus one team leader, one deputy leader, and observers. Ever since its inception in 1959, the olympiad has developed a rich legacy and has established itself as the pinnacle of mathematical competition among high school students.
The content ranges from extremely difficult precalculus problems to problems on branches of mathematics not conventionally covered at school and often not at university level either, such as projective
Projective geometry
In mathematics, projective geometry is the study of geometric properties that are invariant under projective transformations. This means that, compared to elementary geometry, projective geometry has a different setting, projective space, and a selective set of basic geometric concepts...
and complex geometry, functional equations and well-grounded number theory, of which extensive knowledge of theorems is required. Calculus, though allowed in solutions, is never required, as there is a principle at play that anyone with a basic understanding of mathematics should understand the problems, even if the solutions require a great deal more knowledge. Supporters of this principle claim that this allows more universality and creates an incentive to find elegant, deceptively simple-looking problems which nevertheless require a certain level of ingenuity.
The selection process differs by country, but it often consists of a series of tests which admit fewer students at each progressing test. Awards are given to a top percentage of the individual contestants. Teams are not officially recognized—all scores are given only to individual contestants, but team scoring is unofficially compared more so than individual scores. Contestants must be under the age of 20 and must not be registered at any tertiary institution. Subject to these conditions, an individual may participate any number of times in the IMO.
History
The first IMO was held in RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
in 1959. Since then it has been held every year except 1980. That year, it was cancelled due to internal strife in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. It was initially founded for eastern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries participating in the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
, under the Soviet bloc of influence, but eventually other countries participated as well. Because of this eastern origin, the earlier IMOs were hosted only in eastern European countries, and gradually spread to other nations.
Sources differ about the cities hosting some of the early IMOs. This may be partly because leaders are generally housed well away from the students, and partly because after the competition the students did not always stay based in one city for the rest of the IMO. The exact dates cited may also differ, because of leaders arriving before the students, and at more recent IMOs the IMO Advisory Board arriving before the leaders.
Several students, such as Christian Reiher
Christian Reiher
Christian Reiher is a German mathematician. He is the second most successful participant in the history of the International Mathematical Olympiad, having won four gold medals in the years 2000 to 2003 and a bronze medal in 1999.Just after finishing his Abitur, he proved Kemnitz's conjecture, an...
, have performed exceptionally well on the IMO, scoring multiple gold medals. Others, such as Grigory Margulis
Grigory Margulis
Gregori Aleksandrovich Margulis is a Russian mathematician known for his far-reaching work on lattices in Lie groups, and the introduction of methods from ergodic theory into diophantine approximation. He was awarded a Fields Medal in 1978 and a Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 2005, becoming the...
and Grigori Perelman
Grigori Perelman
Grigori Yakovlevich Perelman is a Russian mathematician who has made landmark contributions to Riemannian geometry and geometric topology.In 1992, Perelman proved the soul conjecture. In 2002, he proved Thurston's geometrization conjecture...
, have gone on to become notable mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
s. Several former participants have won awards such as the Fields medal
Fields Medal
The Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...
.
In January 2011, Google gifted $1 million to the International Mathematical Olympiad organization. The donation will help the organization cover the costs of the next five global events (2011–2015).
Scoring and format
The paper consists of six problems, with each problem being worth seven points, the total score thus being 42 points. No calculators are allowed. The examination is held over two consecutive days; the contestants have four-and-a-half hours to solve three problems per day. The problems chosen are from various areas of secondary school mathematics, broadly classifiable as geometryGeometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
, number theory
Number theory
Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers. Number theorists study prime numbers as well...
, algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
, and combinatorics
Combinatorics
Combinatorics is a branch of mathematics concerning the study of finite or countable discrete structures. Aspects of combinatorics include counting the structures of a given kind and size , deciding when certain criteria can be met, and constructing and analyzing objects meeting the criteria ,...
. They require no knowledge of higher mathematics such as calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
and analysis
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical analysis, which mathematicians refer to simply as analysis, has its beginnings in the rigorous formulation of infinitesimal calculus. It is a branch of pure mathematics that includes the theories of differentiation, integration and measure, limits, infinite series, and analytic functions...
, and solutions are often short and elementary. However, they are usually disguised so as to make the process of finding the solutions difficult. Prominently featured are algebraic inequalities, complex numbers, and construction-oriented geometrical problems, though in previous years the latter has not been as popular as before.
Each participating country, other than the host country, may submit suggested problems to a Problem Selection Committee provided by the host country, which reduces the submitted problems to a shortlist. The team leaders arrive at the IMO a few days in advance of the contestants and form the IMO Jury which is responsible for all the formal decisions relating to the contest, starting with selecting the six problems from the shortlist. The Jury aims to select the problems so that the order in increasing difficulty is Q1, Q4, Q2, Q5, Q3 and Q6. As the leaders know the problems in advance of the contestants, they are kept strictly separated and observed.
Each country's marks are agreed between that country's leader and deputy leader and coordinators provided by the host country (the leader of the team whose country submitted the problem in the case of the marks of the host country), subject to the decisions of the chief coordinator and ultimately a jury if any disputes cannot be resolved.
Selection process
The selection process for the IMO varies greatly by country. In some countries, especially those in east Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
, the selection process involves several difficult tests of a difficulty comparable to the IMO itself. The Chinese contestants go through a camp, which lasts from March 16 to April 2. In others, such as the USA, possible participants go through a series of easier standalone competitions that gradually increase in difficulty. In the case of the USA, the tests include the American Mathematics Competitions
American Mathematics Competitions
The American Mathematics Competitions are the first of a series of competitions in high school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad . This team, consisting of six high school students, competes in the IMO and has traditionally performed well...
, the American Invitational Mathematics Examination
American Invitational Mathematics Examination
The American Invitational Mathematics Examination is a 15-question 3-hour test given since 1983 to those who rank in the top 5% on the AMC 12 high school mathematics contest , and starting in 2010, those who rank in the top 2.5% on the AMC 10.The AIME is the second of two tests used to determine...
, and the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad
United States of America Mathematical Olympiad
The United States of America Mathematical Olympiad is a high school mathematics competition held annually in the United States. Since its debut in 1972, it has served as the final round of the AMC series of contests...
, each of which is a competition in its own right. For high scorers on the final competition for the team selection, there also is a summer camp, like that of China.
The former Soviet Union and other eastern European countries' selection process consists of choosing a team several years beforehand, and giving them special training specifically for the event. However, such methods have been discontinued in some countries. In Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, for instance, selection tests consist of four olympiads comparable to the IMO by difficulty and schedule. While identifying the winners, only the results of the current selection olympiads are considered.
Awards
The participants are ranked based on their individual scores. Medals are awarded to the highest ranked participants, such that slightly less than half of them receive a medal. Subsequently the cutoffs (minimum scores required to receive a gold, silver or bronze medal respectively) are chosen such that the ratio of medals awarded approximates 1:2:3. Participants who do not win a medal but who score seven points on at least one problem receive an honorable mention.Special prizes may be awarded for solutions of outstanding elegance or involving good generalisations of a problem. This last happened in 2005, 1995 and 1988, but was more frequent up to the early 1980s. The special prize in 2005 was awarded to a student from Moldova who came up with a brilliant solution to question 3, which was an inequality involving three variables. He was one of only three students to achieve a perfect score for that paper.
The rule that at most half the contestants win a medal is sometimes broken if adhering to it causes the number of medals to deviate too much from half the number of contestants. This last happened in 2010 when the choice was to give either 226 (43%) or 266 (51%) of the 517 (excluding the 6 from North Korea—see below) contestants a medal. The ratio of gold to silver to bronze medals is generally 1:2:3, respectively.
Penalties
North KoreaNorth Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
was disqualified for cheating at the 32nd IMO in 1991 and the 51st IMO in 2010.
Current and future IMOs
- The 51st IMO2010 International Mathematical OlympiadThe 2010 International Mathematical Olympiad was held in Astana, Kazhakstan from 2 to 14 July 2010. The highest scoring student was Zipei Nie from China with a perfect score of 42. The top performing country was China with a score of 197, followed by Russia with a score of 169.- References :* *...
was held in AstanaAstanaAstana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
, KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, July 2–15, 2010. - The 52nd IMO was held in AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, in July 13–24, 2011. - The 53rd IMO will be held in Mar del PlataMar del PlataMar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...
, ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, July 4–16, 2012. - The 54th IMO will be held in ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
in 2013 - The 55th IMO will be held in South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 2014. - The 56th IMO will be held in ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in 2015.
Notable achievements
- China, 11 times: in 1992, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2011;
- Russia, 2 times: in 2002 and 2008;
- United States, 2 times: in 1994 and 2011;
- Bulgaria, 1 time: in 2003.
The only countries to have their entire teams score perfectly on the IMO were the United States, which won IMO 1994 when it accomplished this, coached by Paul Zeitz
Paul Zeitz
Note: The founder and former Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance is also named Paul Zeitz. However, this is not the same person.Paul Zeitz is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of San Francisco...
, and Luxembourg, whose 1-member team got a perfect score in IMO 1981. The USA's success earned a mention in TIME Magazine. Hungary won IMO 1975 in an unorthodox way when none of the eight team members received a gold medal (five silver, three bronze). Second place team East Germany also did not have a single gold medal winner (four silver, four bronze).
Several individuals have consistently scored highly and/or earned medals on the IMO: Reid Barton
Reid W. Barton
Reid W. Barton was one of the most successful performers in the International Science Olympiads. He is an MIT alumnus.- Biography:Barton is the son of two environmental engineers...
(United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) was the first participant to win a gold medal four times (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001). Barton is also one of only seven four-time Putnam Fellow (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004). In addition, he is the only person to have won both the IMO and the International Olympiad in Informatics
International Olympiad in Informatics
The International Olympiad in Informatics is an annual computer science competition for secondary school students. The first IOI was held in 1989 in Pravetz, Bulgaria....
(IOI). Christian Reiher
Christian Reiher
Christian Reiher is a German mathematician. He is the second most successful participant in the history of the International Mathematical Olympiad, having won four gold medals in the years 2000 to 2003 and a bronze medal in 1999.Just after finishing his Abitur, he proved Kemnitz's conjecture, an...
and Lisa Sauermann
Lisa Sauermann
Lisa Sauermann is a German schoolgirl who became the most successful participant in the International Mathematical Olympiad. She is ranked No.1 in the International Mathematical Olympiad Hall of Fame, having won four gold medals and one silver medal at this event. In all of those occasions she...
(both Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) are the only other participants to have won four gold medals (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 resp. 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011); Sauermann also received a silver medal (2007) and Reiher a bronze medal (1999). Wolfgang Burmeister (East Germany), Martin Härterich (West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
), Iurie Boreico (Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
) and Teodor von Burg (Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
) are the only other participants besides Reiher and Sauermann to win five Medals with at least three of them gold. Ciprian Manolescu
Ciprian Manolescu
Ciprian Manolescu is a Romanian mathematician. He is presently an Associate Professor in the mathematics department at the University of California, Los Angeles....
(Romania) managed to write a perfect paper (42 points) for gold medal more times than anybody else in history of competition, doing it all three times he participated in the IMO (1995, 1996, 1997). Manolescu is also a three-time Putnam Fellow (1997, 1998, 2000). Evgenia Malinnikova (Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
) is the highest-scoring female contestant in IMO history. She has 3 gold medals in IMO 1989 (41 points), IMO 1990 (42) and IMO 1991 (42), missing only 1 point in 1989 to precede Manolescu's achievement. Oleg Golberg (Russia/USA) is the only participant in IMO history to win gold medals for different countries: he won two for Russia in 2002 and 2003, then one for USA in 2004.
Terence Tao
Terence Tao
Terence Chi-Shen Tao FRS is an Australian mathematician working primarily on harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, combinatorics, analytic number theory and representation theory...
(Australia) participated in IMO 1986, 1987 and 1988, winning bronze, silver and gold medals respectively. He won a gold medal when he just turned thirteen in IMO 1988, becoming the youngest person to receive a gold medal. Tao also holds the distinction of being the youngest medalist with his 1986 bronze medal, alongside 2009 bronze medalist Raúl Chávez Sarmiento
Raúl Chávez Sarmiento
Raúl Arturo Chávez Sarmiento is a Peruvian child prodigy in mathematics. At the age of , he won a bronze medal at the 2009 International Mathematical Olympiad, making him the second youngest medalist in IMO history, behind Terence Tao who won bronze in 1986 at the age of 10.He won a silver medal...
(Peru), at the age of 10 and 11 respectively. Representing the United States, Noam Elkies
Noam Elkies
Noam David Elkies is an American mathematician and chess master.At age 14, Elkies received a gold medal with a perfect score at the International Mathematical Olympiad, the youngest ever to do so...
won a gold medal with a perfect paper at the age of 14 in 1981. Note that both Elkies and Tao could have participated in the IMO multiple times following their success, but entered university and therefore became ineligible.
Media coverage
- A documentary, "Hard Problems: The Road To The World's Toughest Math Contest" was made about the United States 2006 IMO team.
- And a BBC documentary titled Beautiful Young MindsBeautiful Young MindsBeautiful Young Minds was a documentary first shown at the BritDoc Festival on 26 July 2007 and first broadcast on BBC 2 on 14 October 2007. The programme follows the selection process and training for the British team to compete in the 2006 International Mathematical Olympiad , as well as the...
aired July 2007 about the IMO.
See also
- Asian Pacific Mathematics OlympiadAsian Pacific Mathematics OlympiadThe Asian Pacific Math Olympiad starting from 1989 is a regional mathematics competition which involves countries from the Asian Pacific region. The USA also takes part in the APMO...
- International Mathematics Competition for University StudentsInternational Mathematics Competition for University StudentsThe International Mathematics Competition for University Students is an annual mathematics competition open to all undergraduate students of mathematics. It is held at a different location each year at the end of July or beginning of August....
(IMC) - International Science OlympiadInternational Science OlympiadThe International Science Olympiads are a group of worldwide annual competitions in various areas of science. The competitions are designed for the 4-6 best high school students from each participating country selected through internal National Science Olympiads, with the exception of the IOL,...
- List of mathematics competitions
- Provincial Mathematical Olympiad
Official
Resources
- MathLinks Olympiad resources - IMO problems and solutions, IMO Shortlists, IMO Longlists and one of the largest collection of Olympiad problems in the world.
- The IMO Compendium