The best Bulgarian math students won 5 medals at the world's most prestigious math competition of the year. At the 65th International Mathematical Olympiad, the Bulgarian national team won 3 silver and 2 bronze medals, and one honorable mention, reports the Association of Olympic Teams in Natural Sciences. The Olympiad was held from July 11 to 22 in the United Kingdom and gathered 609 students from 108 countries.
The silver medals were won by Marin Hristov (12th grade, SMG), Angel Hristov (11th grade, PPMG Burgas), and Bilyana Dimitrova (12th grade, SMG), who achieved the fourth-best result in the world among the 81 participating girls. The bronze medals were awarded to Veselin Markovich (11th grade, MG Varna) and Boris Gachevski (12th grade, SMG), while Viktor Kostadinov (12th grade, PCMG), who narrowly missed a medal, received an honorable mention. Their coaches were Prof. Stanislav Harizanov (IIKT/IMI-BAS) and Asst. Prof. Stoyan Boev (AUB/CSUND), and the observer was Dragomir Grozev.
In the team ranking, Bulgaria secured a respectable 27th place in the world (and 11th in Europe) with 126 points, down from 25th place in 2023.
The preparation and participation in the IMO were supported by the Ministry of Education and Science, the Union of Mathematicians in Bulgaria, the American Foundation for Bulgaria, and the Association of Olympic Teams in Natural Sciences.
The competition days were July 16 and 17, with participants solving 3 problems, each worth 7 points, within 4.5 hours. Problem coordination took place on July 18 and 19, and the closing ceremony was held on July 21, attended by three Fields Medalists - Timothy Gowers (1998), Terence Tao (2006), and Maryna Viazovska (2022).
The International Mathematical Olympiad is the first Olympiad in natural sciences. It was established in 1959 in Romania. Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania are the only countries that have participated in all editions of the Olympiad since its inception.
To date, the Bulgarian team has won a total of 308 medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad: 57 gold, 130 silver, and 121 bronze medals!