Alex Chui, a Year 13 student from Tonbridge School in Kent, has become the most successful competitor in the history of the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). Chui secured his fifth gold medal at this year's event in Shanghai, China, achieving a perfect score of 42 out of 42.
This achievement marks a historic moment for the IMO, which was first launched in 1959. Chui's five gold medals, combined with silver medals earned previously, solidify his position as the most decorated participant in the tournament's history. He began competing in the IMO at the age of 12, initially representing Hong Kong's team.
Reflecting on his final IMO appearance, Chui stated, "I really cherished this experience of my last IMO in China, getting to compete alongside my teammates and meet other contestants from around the world. I am very happy to be able to round it off with a perfect score, and now looking forward to life at university." He noted that one question on combinatorics was particularly challenging but found the overall tournament "very enjoyable."
Chui's passion for mathematics ignited at a young age, sparked by an early fascination with the properties of prime numbers. His participation in various math contests from an early age built his confidence in tackling complex problems. He began intensive training for the IMO at age nine, delving into mathematics with greater depth.
This year, 55 out of 666 contestants were awarded gold medals. The UK team, entered by the United Kingdom Maths Trust, secured two gold medals, one silver, and three bronze medals. Alongside Chui's gold, Kevin Wai of Magdalen College School also won gold, while Yuvan Raja of Royal Grammar School Guildford earned a silver medal. Bronze medals were awarded to Adavya Goyal of St Paul's School, Anango Prabhat, and Michael Sydorenko, both from King's College London Maths School. The UK team finished 8th out of 117 participating countries.
Tonbridge School expressed their delight, with Head of Mathematics Owen Elton calling Chui's perfect score a fitting capstone to his "unprecedented IMO career." Elton added, "He is likely to sit atop the Hall of Fame for decades." Chui is set to continue his studies at Cambridge.
Dr. Dominic Yeo, the IMO team leader and senior lecturer in mathematics at King's College London, described the IMO problems as "always challenging" and highlighted the difficulty of finding the right approaches to this year's tasks. He commended Chui's "formidable achievement" and noted that his five gold medals reflect "hard work over many years, and remarkable problem-solving creativity."
Dr. Geoff Smith, chair of trustees at the United Kingdom Maths Trust, praised the British pupils' performance, stating that Chui's record-breaking achievement is "astonishing."
The rigorous selection process for the UK IMO team includes multiple rounds of exams and training camps. The competition itself consists of two four-and-a-half-hour examination papers taken over two days, with each paper containing three problems of escalating difficulty.