Mexico has won a gold medal in mathematics for the second time at the International Mathematics Competition (IMC).

Elementary school student Rodrigo Saldivar Mauricio, 11, from Zacatecas won the gold in an individual competition.

The tournament was organized by Indonesia, but took place remotely from July 27 to August 1 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The country was originally destined to host the 2020 competition, but it was postponed.

Sixteen Mexican competitors also won four silver medals and nine bronze medals spread across team and individual contests, and the country was awarded an honorable mention.

Mexico won gold for the first time at the IMC in 2019 when it was held in South Africa. That year primary school student Mateo Iván Latapí Acosta from Mexico City took a gold medal, which prompted organizers to recognize the country as an “emerging mathematical powerhouse.”

The competition consists of two parallel contests: the IWYMIC (Invitational World Youth Mathematics Intercity Competition) for high school students and the EMIC (Elementary Mathematics International Contest), for elementary school pupils. In 2010, Mexico was invited to participate for the first time in the IWYMIC. This year, the country participated in the EMIC for the fourth time.

In both contests two exams are presented: one individual and one team exam. Each team is made up of four members.

Two high school and two elementary school teams from Mexico took part, among 304 primary and 284 secondary school children from 30 countries including China, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Hong Kong.
The exams present challenges that correspond to the basic high school curriculum: algebra, arithmetic, counting and geometry.

Meanwhile, a Zapotec teenager also triumphed last month at the World Innovative Science Fair organized by Indonesia, with a short film about chauvinism.

With reports from Milenio and Radio Fórmula