At the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), a Chinese high school student overcame cerebral palsy to lead his team to first place, drawing attention. The International Mathematical Olympiad is a competition where math prodigies from around the world compete.
According to the Hong Kong daily South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 22nd, the Chinese national team, which includes 11th-grade student Xu Qiming (徐祺銘) from Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone Foreign Language High School, won first place at the 66th International Mathematical Olympiad held from October 10 to 20 on Australia's Sunshine Coast.
Xu Qiming suffers from cerebral palsy due to experiencing hypoxia at birth. Despite limitations in physical movement and balance, he achieved outstanding results.
A coach from the Chinese delegation said, "Xu did not receive any special treatment due to health issues," adding that "like other students, he solved all the problems over two days for four and a half hours each day."
The Olympiad included six problems in algebra, combinatorics, geometry, and number theory. It was conducted over two days with four hours and thirty minutes each day. All six students from the Chinese delegation scored full marks (35 points) on problems 1 to 5. The Chinese team earned a total of 21 points on the most difficult problem, number 6, far surpassing the second-place United States' score (9 points). Korea achieved a comprehensive third place this year.
All six members of the Chinese delegation won gold medals. The passing scores for gold, silver, and bronze medals were 35 points, 28 points, and 19 points, respectively. Individually, Xu Qiming scored 36 points, placing 12th among 630 participants from 110 countries.
The International Mathematical Olympiad first took place in Romania in 1959 and is held annually in various countries around the world. Next year, it is scheduled to be conducted in Shanghai, China. Each year, China selects the national team of six from 30 candidates chosen from nationwide Olympiad participants.