Clean Medal Sweep at International Mathematical Olympiad in Mexico

The Australian team at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico has won a clean sweep of 6 medals for only the fifth time in its history.

The team's haul was also unique in that all the medals were bronze. The team, Sam Chow and Stephen Muirhead, both of Scotch College, Melbourne, Kim Ramchen of Melbourne Grammar School, Konrad Pilch of St Peter's College, Adelaide, and Graham White and Vinoth Nandakumar, both of James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney, each won a bronze medal, a remarkably consistent result.

In fact all were tightly within the upper half of the band of scores which leads to a Bronze Medal, with Kim only one point off a Silver Medal and Graham just another point further back.

The team also had an unexpected experience, with Hurricane Emily sweeping directly through the city, which is the capital of Yucatan state. All the teams had to take shelter for about 16 hours in specially prepared refuges in their hotels while the hurricane made its way through the city.

Results of the Australian students are:

Name	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	Q6	TOTAL	AWARD
Sam Chow	0	7	0	7	2	3	19
Stephen Muirhead	7	7	0	2	3	0	19
Vinoth Nandakumar	2	4	0	7	7	0	20
Konrad Pilch	2	3	0	7	0	4	16
Kim Ramchen	7	1	0	7	7	0	22
Graham White	0	7	0	7	0	7	21
Sum	25	17	0	42	6	2	92

This year 12 was the minimum score for Bronze, 23 for Silver and 35 for Gold.

The team total of 117 points placed it 25th of a total of 91 countries, an improvement of two positions from last year in an increased field.

Team Leader was Dr Angelo Di Pasquale and Deputy Leader Mr Norman Do, both from the University of Melbourne.

Top country scores were from China (235 points), USA (213), Russia (212), Iran (201) and Korea (200).

Professor Peter Taylor, Executive Director of the Australian Mathematics Trust, which administers Australia's involvement in the IMO, acknowledged the support of the Australian Government, through its Department of Education, Science and Training.

"Participation in this Olympiad, which is sanctioned by UNESCO, is just the tip of the iceberg for a complete range of mathematics enrichment activities made available by the Trust. At the general level several hundred thousand students take part in the Australian Mathematics Cometition for the Westpac Awards, through almost every school in Australia. At the next level, over 20,000 students enrol in the Mathematics Challenge for Young Australians and after that the top students are invited to take part in further training leading to possible selection in the Australian team", he said.

All of these students enhance their knowledge, and particularly their problem solving capabilities, which are so vital for making them ready for employment or future University study."

In addition to significant Australian Government support, Australia's participation at the International Mathematical Olympiad also receives support from the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers and the Australian Mathematical Society.

The team, from back row, left Stephen Muirhead, Kim Ramchen, Graham White, Vinoth Nandakumar, (from row) Konrad Pilch and Sam Chow after receiving their medals at the Closing Ceremony in Merida on 18 July, the day of Hurricane Emily.

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