PHL bags 6 medals at Intl Math Olympiad
THe country is proud not only of the Filipino athletes who participated and won in the olympics in Japan but also of the students who brought home medals from the recent 62nd International Mathematical olympiad (IMO).
Each of the six members of the philippine team to the recently concluded 62nd IMO made the country proud by winning four silver and two bronze medals at one of the most difficult and most prestigious mathematics competitions in the world.
Immanuel Josiah Balete of St. Stephen's High School, Raphael Dylan Dalida of philippine Science High School-main campus, Steven Reyes of Saint Jude catholic School and Bryce ainsley Sanchez of Grace christian college each won a silver medal in the olympics of math competitions.
Meanwhile, Sarji elijah Bona of De La Salle University-senior High School and vincent de la cruz of valenzuela city School of Mathematics and Science each took home bronze medals.
The team was led by Dr. christian paul chan Shio (leader) and Raymond Joseph Fadri (deputy leader), on behalf of the Mathematical Society of the philippines (MSP).
Training for the contestants was handled by professors from the University of the philippines Diliman and the ateneo de Manila University, and included past team officials, such as Dr. Richard eden (team leader, 2016-2019) and Dr. Louie John vallejo (deputy leader, 2015-2017).
Altogether, the team ranked 23rd out of 107 countries, a monumental jump from 2020, when the philippines ended the competition in 43rd place.
Hosted by St. petersburg, Russia, the 62nd IMO was the second competition in a row that was held online due to the current covid-19 pandemic.
“This is a very good year for waving the philippine banner in the international arena,” said Director Dr. Josette t. Biyo of the Science education Institute of the Department of Science and technology (DOST-SEI).
“these students are showing the world that Filipinos are achievers in anything they put their minds to, be it sports or intellectual pursuits,” Biyo added.
“These medals are hard-earned and well deserved,” Dr. chan Shio said. “they [students] are no strangers to the rigors of competition, and their commitment and dedication really paid off. they made us and the country very proud.”
“The philippine team did particularly well this year, even doing better than historically strong teams like Japan, France and Romania,” said MSP president Dr. Jose ernie c. Lope.
“Once again, the philippines has shown that it is not far behind the world leaders in mathematics competitions. Huge congratulations to all our contestants and to lead coaches Dr. chan Shio and Mr. Fadri. on behalf of the MSP, I would like to thank DOST-SEI and HARI [Hyundai asia Resources Inc.] Foundation for generously supporting us in this important endeavor,” Lope added.