Taiwan students won three golds, one silver and two bronzes to place sixth at the 59th International Mathematical Olympiad July 3-14 in Romania, according to the Ministry of Education.
The six-member team competed against 588 counterparts from 106 countries and territories at the world’s largest math contest for high schoolers. The U.S. topped the event, followed by Russia, China, Ukraine and Thailand, in that order.
Wang Shih-yu from National Experimental High School at Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan was the nation’s best performer, winning a gold and finishing fourth in the individual rankings. A silver medalist at the previous two editions of the annual event, Wang said that twice narrowly missing out on the top prize inspired him to redouble his efforts in preparing for this year’s IMO, adding that he is overjoyed at achieving a top 10 spot.
Also bagging gold for Taiwan were Cheng Jung-tao from Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School and Huang Wei-ping from Taichung Municipal First Senior High School in central Taiwan, who placed sixth and 24th, respectively.
Lin Ting-feng from the Affiliated Senior High School of National Kaohsiung Normal University in southern Taiwan took home silver, while the bronzes were earned by Cheng Tien-sheng from Kaohsiung Municipal Senior High School and Shih Yu-sheng from Mingdao High School in Taichung.
Taiwan has finished in the top 20 at each edition of the IMO since debuting in 1992, with local students claiming a total of 40 golds, 89 silvers, 24 bronzes and eight honorable mentions, according to the MOE.
To encourage local students to participate in international olympiads, the MOE offers incentives of NT$200,000 (US$6,536), NT$100,000 and NT$50,000 for gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively. IMO winners also qualify for admission to the mathematics department of any Taiwan university, the ministry said. (CPY-E)
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