The Chinese national team won the first place with a total score of 208 points. Wang Yichuan, a student from No. 2 High School of ECNU, won the GOLD medal with the only full score (42 points), ranking FIRST in the world.
“Mostly luck, I guess, and I was also well prepared”, said Wang Yichuan, the teenager who has just taken the crown at the 62nd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).
“I’ve enjoyed learning mathematics since childhood. I began to be trained for the Mathematical Olympiad when I was in primary school.” When talking about his passion for mathematics, Wang Yichuan, who is not good at expressing himself, immediately became eloquent. In the eyes of his parents, teachers and classmates, he has been “excessively obsessed in and dedicated to learning mathematics”.
Taking about his full score at this event, Wang Yichuan said, “My method is as follows: strictly implement the study plan, tailor my training to the competition requirements, and do a fixed number of exercises regularly every day to keep myself well-prepared for the competition.”
Apart from mathematics, Wang Yichuan also loves computer science. “I’ll continue to make good use of mathematics as a tool and choose a major closely related to it so as to contribute to the development of the national key fields”.
“When he first entered No. 2 High School of ECNU, Wang Yichuan was not in his top form for competitions,” said Tang Lihua, a senior teacher and Mathematical Olympiad coach in No. 2 High School of ECNU. “However, he soon faced up to his own problems and kept forging ahead. He worked out a meticulous study program for himself and put it into practice, and was serious with every training. Consequently, he has made steady progress in academic.”
Wang Yichuan and his competition coach Tang Lihua (left)
and Chinese national team leader Xiao Liang (right)
During the pandemic, Wang Yichuan even asked his teacher Tang Lihua for exercise questions every day, “I can’t set questions as fast as he can solve them. It was his effort during this time that enabled Wang Yichuan to make substantial progress in his ability to solve problems and surpass other contestants in this year’s event. ”
“The relaxing yet orderly learning environment in the school enables different students to achieve personalized development. I also attribute my progress to the quality and efficiency competition training mechanism in the school and the guidance of Mr. Tang and other coaches,” said Wang.
Li Zhicong, Director of Basic Education and Lifelong Education Development Department of ECNU and President of No. 2 High School of ECNU, said, “No. 2 High School of ECNU is committed to laying a foundation for training top innovative talents with both ability and virtue. We encourage our students to find their own interests in learning and develop specialized skills, so as to promote their comprehensive yet personalized development.”
About IMO
The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical Olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except in 1980. More than 100 countries, representing over 90% of the world's population, send teams of up to six students, plus one team leader, one deputy leader, and observers.
Copy editor: Philip Nash, Yuan Yiwei, Li Mengjie
