Secondary school boys from Yanbu won four medals at the 54th International Mathematical Olympiads, which concluded at Santa Mara in Colombia on Sunday, placing the Kingdom in the lead among its Arab counterparts.
Young Saudi mathematicians Al-Yazid Basyouni, Abdul Rahman Al-Harbi, Sameh Zawawi and Ibrhaim Khan from the Ibn Khaldoun secondary school in Yanbu in Madinah province competed against 528 boys and girls from 99 countries in contests that lasted 11 days from 18 to 28 July. The Kingdom ranked 42nd internationally, while Chinese students won first place, followed by South Korea and the United States.
“The Kingdom’s participation in the international Olympiad and similar programs is part of a national strategy aimed at building a bright young generation geared toward scientific competitions and trained to develop their analytical skills and problem-solving capabilities to reach creative ideas,” Education Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, deputy chairman of the Mawhiba (King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity,) said.
Basyouni and Al-Harbi have won medals in mathematics in last year’s Olympiad competition.
The Olympiad questions fall under four categories of math: Number Theory, Geometrics, Algebra and Combinatorics.
The four medals bring the total of medals won by the Kingdom to eight in international contests this year. It was reported earlier that two Saudi students Nora Al-Sabti and Ahmed Al-Faifi won bronze medals in the 45th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) that concluded in Moscow last week.
Another team of Saudi students won two medals and certificates of appreciation at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) conducted in Copenhagen recently.
Nora is the first Saudi girl student to win an international medal in any science topic.
Saudi students first participated in the math Olympiads in 2003.
Mawhiba and the Ministry of Education identify and promote gifted students in the Kingdom through various programs across the country. Gifted children are given intense training to enable them to participate in international competitions.
The Kingdom ranked 29th place last year, 70th place in 2011, 76th in 2010 and 94th in 2008, while it refrained from participating in the math Olympiad in 2009.
Yanbu students win 4 medals in world math contest
