China topped the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in Australia from 10/7 to 20/7, scoring 231 points. All six members of the Chinese team won gold medals. Xu Qiming scored 36/42 points, ranking 12th out of 630 contestants from approximately 110 countries and territories.
Qiming captured attention at the opening ceremony as he joined his teammates on stage to greet the audience. The crowd erupted in applause and cheers, encouraging him as he navigated the stage with some difficulty.
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Qiming (second from right) with the Chinese IMO team in Australia. Photo: Sohu |
Qiming (second from right) with the Chinese IMO team in Australia. Photo: Sohu
Qiming is an 11th-grade student from Wuhan city, Hubei province, in central China. He has cerebral palsy due to oxygen deprivation at birth, which affects his movement and balance. Despite this, he showed an early aptitude for mathematics.
"His focus and perseverance are truly rare. Every time I see Qiming immersed in mathematics, I believe he will achieve great things in this field," Qiming's teacher shared.
Each year, China selects 30 high school students nationwide for the IMO team. After two rounds of selection, the final six students are chosen.
Last year, Qiming was selected for the international team and won a gold medal with 35 points, placing in the top 5. This year's competition included six problems in algebra, combinatorics, geometry, and number theory. He achieved perfect scores on the first five problems. On problem six, considered the most challenging, Qiming earned one point.
A member of the Chinese delegation stated that Qiming participated in the exam like any other student, without any special health accommodations.
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Qiming (left) with his teammates at IMO 2025. Photo: Jimu news |
Qiming (left) with his teammates at IMO 2025. Photo: Jimu news
The first IMO was held in 1959. China first participated in 1985, winning a bronze medal. Since then, the Chinese team has topped the competition 25 times, winning a total of 191 gold medals.
This year, contestants competed over two days, solving three problems each day in 4.5 hours. The maximum score for each problem was 7. According to the organizing committee, the threshold for a gold medal was 35/42 points, achieved by 67 contestants.
IMO 2026 will be held in Shanghai, China.
Binh Minh (The Paper, IMO, Baidu, Weixin, Sohu)
