Australian Gold Medal at 2000 International Mathematical Olympiad

Australian student Peter McNamara, a Year 11 student at Hale School in Perth, has won a Gold Medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad, held at Taejon, Korea, between 13 and 25 July.

The Olympiad is the most prestigious and most demanding international competition in mathematics for secondary students from around the world. This year 461 students from 82 countries participated and to receive a Gold Medal a student needed to be placed among the top one-twelfth of the competitors. Peter scored a total of 31 out of a possible 42 points, completely solving four of the six problems presented to the students.

Three other members of Australia's team of six students, Geoffrey Chu, of Scotch College, Melbourne, Thomas Sewell, of James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney, and Allan Sly, of Radford College in Canberra, earned Silver Medals placing them among the top quarter of the contestants. A further member of the Australian team, Thomas Xia, also of James Ruse Agricultural High School, earned a Bronze Medal for being placed in the top half of the participating students. The sixth team member was David Chan, a year ten student from Sydney Grammar School.

For Peter it was the second Medal he has earned in this event. Last year, as a Year 10 student, he participated in the 40th International Mathematical Olympiad held in Bucharest, Romania, where he won a Bronze Medal (Geoffrey earned a Gold Medal on that occasion). Peter has also distinguished himself as a mathematics student of high ability with medals in other competitions, such as the Australian Mathematics Competition and the Asian Pacific Mathematics Olympiad, on a number of occasions.

Peter is pictured above with the Korean Minister for Science, who had just presented him with his medal.

Australia continued a tradition of respectable placings in the unofficial team points count, being placed 16th out of the 82 teams. This was the fourth consecutive year in which Australia has outscored all western countries except the USA, including countries such as Canada, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Team Leader and Director of Training, Associate Professor David Hunt, of the University of New South Wales, paid compliments to Peter and other members of the team. "This is not only a test of mathematical knowledge and problem solving ability, but a test of temperament in a competitive environment and a test of attention to detail. In these conditions it is easy to overlook a critical clue which unlocks the secret to solving a difficult problem," he said. "Peter is a well-adjusted young man who who is calm and rises to the occasion when presented with a challenge such as this".

"Whereas students training for this event require a solid knowledge of school mathematics, they must also do much of their preparation outside of school hours attending training camps and solving weekly problems with their mentors. This is a test not only of ability, but of the range of skills built up through experience".

Professor Peter Taylor, Executive Director of the Australian Mathematics Trust which administers the training and participation of the Australian team, noted that in many Asian and Eastern European countries there were special schools which give talented students advanced instruction in mathematics and other disciplines which gives students in those countries a big advantage compared with students in Western countries.

He acknowledged the critical support which our students receive from the Federal Government. In particular, the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs provides support for school based activities in which tens of thousands of Australian students benefit, giving them a sounder base for future University study, while the Department of Industry, Science and Resources provides support in which about a hundred or so of Australia's most talented students undergo further extension work. Australia's consistently high performance, compared with Western counterparts, was dependent on this government support.

Australian Scores

NAME		Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	Q6	TOTAL	AWARD
David Chan	NSW	0	1	1	2	0	0	4
Geoffrey Chu	Vic	7	7	2	4	7	1	28
Peter McNamara	WA	7	7	3	7	7	0	31
Thomas Sewell	NSW	7	2	3	6	4	1	23
Allan Sly	ACT	4	1	7	7	1	1	21
Thomas Xia	NSW	7	2	1	4	1	0	15

Country Scores by Problem

Rankings are unofficial. The scores below were compiled informally. they are believed to be correct, but not guaranteed.