Washington, D.C. - Team USA, sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America American Mathematics Competitions (AMC), earned third place in the virtual 61st International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held on September 21-22, 2020. The six high school U.S. team members also won medals for their individual top scores.
The IMO, the preeminent high school math competition, brings together the top mathematics students from across the world to compete in the world championship of math. Each year, the competition is hosted by a different country, and this year it was originally scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg, Russia. For the first time in its history, the IMO was held virtually with each country setting up their own exam centers and live streaming the participants as they took the competition.
This year, over 600 students from 105 countries and territories competed. The U.S. team scored 183 points out of a possible 252 points. China won first place and Russia placed second in the overall team scores. IMO scores are based on the number of points scored by individual team members on six problems. On each day of the two-day competition, the teams have 4.5 hours to work on three problems.
2020 U.S. IMO Team
The IMO, the preeminent high school math competition, brings together the top mathematics students from across the world to compete in the world championship of math. Each year, the competition is hosted by a different country, and this year it was originally scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg, Russia. For the first time in its history, the IMO was held virtually with each country setting up their own exam centers and live streaming the participants as they took the competition.
This year, over 600 students from 105 countries and territories competed. The U.S. team scored 183 points out of a possible 252 points. China won first place and Russia placed second in the overall team scores. IMO scores are based on the number of points scored by individual team members on six problems. On each day of the two-day competition, the teams have 4.5 hours to work on three problems.
2020 U.S. IMO Team
- Quanlin Chen, gold medal
- Gopal Goel, silver medal
- Tianze Jiang, silver medal
- Jeffrey Kwan, silver medal
- Luke Robitaille, gold medal
- William Wang, gold medal
The U.S. team was led by leader Po-Shen Loh, professor of mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and deputy leader Oleksandr Rudenko, teaching assistant and PhD student at CMU.
“The MAA AMC is proud to sponsor Team USA and we congratulate them on their success at the IMO,” said Michael Pearson, executive director of MAA. “These dedicated students represent the bright future of mathematics and we are glad to support them along their mathematical journey.”
Students qualify for the U.S. IMO team by participating in a series of competitions provided by MAA AMC. Approximately 300,000 middle and high school students at over 6,000 schools worldwide participate in the competitions each year.
For more information on MAA AMC including how to host a competition, participate, and other ways to get involved, please visit maa.org/amc.
“The MAA AMC is proud to sponsor Team USA and we congratulate them on their success at the IMO,” said Michael Pearson, executive director of MAA. “These dedicated students represent the bright future of mathematics and we are glad to support them along their mathematical journey.”
Students qualify for the U.S. IMO team by participating in a series of competitions provided by MAA AMC. Approximately 300,000 middle and high school students at over 6,000 schools worldwide participate in the competitions each year.
For more information on MAA AMC including how to host a competition, participate, and other ways to get involved, please visit maa.org/amc.
About MAA
The Mathematical Association of America is the world’s largest community of mathematicians, students, and enthusiasts. We accelerate the understanding of our world through mathematics because mathematics drives society and shapes our lives. Learn more at maa.org.
