Peru grabbed five medals at the 58th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO 2017) held in Rio de Janeiro on July 12-23 this year.
The national delegation was composed of six scholars: Raul Alcantara (silver), Daniel Rojas (silver), Joseph Altamirano (bronze), Daniel Benavides (bronze), Henry Felen (bronze) and Diego Lazaro (honorable mention).
During the event, students
competed against 615 representatives from 111 nations.
The group of students was led by tutors Jorge Tipe Villanueva and Emilio Gonzaga Ramirez.
At country level, Peru held the 30th position, thus ousting various countries, including Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany and Spain, among others.
The ranking was led by South Korea, followed by the People's Republic of China, Viet Nam and the United States.
The event
The first IMO was held in 1959 in Romania, with seven participating countries. It has gradually expanded to over 100 countries from five continents.
The IMO Advisory Board ensures that the event takes place each year and that each host country observes the regulations and traditions of the IMO.
About the contest
During the competition, contestants have to solve, individually, two contest papers on two consecutive days, with three problems each day. Each problem is worth seven points.
Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded in the ratio of 1:2:3 according to the overall results — half of the contestants receive a medal.
In order to encourage as many students as possible to solve complete problems, certificates of honorable mention are awarded to them (not receiving a medal), who obtained seven points for at least one problem.
It must be noted Peruvian students shone at Romania's math tournament last February.
(END) NDP/ART/JHM/MVB