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Media Release – July 26, 2017
Canadian Mathematical Society

Math Team Canada 2017 Wins Olympiad Gold, Silver and Bronze

OTTAWA — Math Team Canada 2017 returns from the 58th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with five medals and one honourable mention. The six team members competed individually, answering six grueling questions in a competition lasting two days, four and a half hours each day. More than 600 high school students wrote the 2017 IMO.

Team leader James Rickards says the 2017 IMO was the “the most difficult IMO yet; only 7 out of more than 600 students obtained marks on problem #3.” Rickards is particularly proud of Math Team Canada, who captured one gold medal, two silver medals, two bronze medals, and one honourable mention. Special honour goes to William Zhao, who placed 14th overall. Rickards would like to thank the CMS, BIRS Oaxaca, and the Mexican IMO organization for making the joint Canada-Mexico training camp a great success.

Three of the six team members, William Zhao, Qi Qi, and Steven Yang also competed in last year’s IMO, all earning medals.

The team result are as follows:

  • William Zhao, 15, Richmond Hill High School, Richmond Hill, ON – Gold Medal
  • Thomas Guo, 14, William Berczy Public School, Markham, ON – Silver Medal
  • Victor Rong, 15, Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute, Toronto, ON – Silver Medal
  • Qi Qi, 17, Phillips Exeter Academy, NH, USA – Bronze Medal
  • Max Xiong, 18, Western Canada High School, Calgary, AB – Bronze Medal
  • Steven Yang, 18, University Hill High School, Vancouver, BC – Honourable mention

This year’s team placed 29th out of 111 countries. The top three countries were:

  1. The Republic of Korea
  2. China
  3. Vietnam

Following the competition, Math Team Canada appreciated the opportunity to experience Brazil.

The 59th International Mathematical Olympiad will take place next year in Romania.

About the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)
The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the world championship high school mathematics competition. The IMO began in 1959 in Romania with seven participating countries. Math Team Canada expects to compete against the world’s best students from over 100 countries in the 59th IMO. Canada has earned 32 gold, 51 silver and 87 bronze medals since first competing in 1981.

Math Team Canada Sponsors
The Canadian Mathematical Society is very grateful to the following sponsors for their support of Math Team Canada 2017:

Sun Life Financial; RBC Foundation; Maplesoft; Nelson Education; Aqueduct Foundation; Samuel Beatty Fund; S. M. Blair Foundation; McLean Foundation; CAE Inc., Popular Book Company; The Banff International Research Statio; Centre de recherches mathématiques; The FIELDS Institute; Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences; and The Government of Ontario; the Government of New Brunswick; the Government of Prince Edward Island; The Government of Nova Scotia; The Government of Quebec; Alberta Education; The University of Calgary; The University of British Columbia; Dalhousie University; The Memorial University of Newfoundland; University of New Brunswick; University of Prince Edward Island; University of Saskatchewan; University of Toronto; and York University.

About the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS)
Founded in 1945, the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) promotes the advancement, discovery, learning and application of mathematics. The CMS promotes mathematics through a rich array of activities including scientific meetings, publications, awards, prizes, grants, camps and competitions.

For more information on Math Team Canada, please contact:

Jacob Tsimerman (Toronto)
Chair, IMO Committee
Canadian Mathematical Society
416-736-5250
chair-imoc@cms.math.ca
Or Patricia Dack
Fundraising and Communications Officer
Canadian Mathematical Society
613-733-2662 ext. 728
pdack@cms.math.ca