USA Tops China In Math Olympics Ahead Of Paris Summer Olympics

For the next few weeks, patriotism in America will reach an all-time high as we cheer on Team USA in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. But, there’s another American team we should be celebrating.

Recently, our best mathletes competed in the International Math Olympiad near Bristol, England, taking on the Chinese, among other nations, in a much-anticipated matchup.

It was an incredibly close contest. But, our mathletes were just a little smarter than China’s best mathematicians, winning by two points and bringing the title back to the USA for the first time since they shared it with China in 2019. 

This has me fired up for the Paris Olympics. Yeah, sports are important. But, math makes the world go, and the USA is the best at it. Pretty tough to get bigger bragging rights than that.

Overall, it’s the USA’s 9th championship, and fifth since 2015. We are practically a dynasty.

Wondering what the International Math Olympiad actually is? Me too! Here is what Wikipedia has to say.

The content ranges from extremely difficult algebra and pre-calculus problems to problems in branches of mathematics not conventionally covered in secondary or high school and often not at university level either, such as projective and complex geometry, functional equations, combinatorics, and well-grounded number theory, of which extensive knowledge of theorems is required. Calculus, though allowed in solutions, is never required, as there is a principle that anyone with a basic understanding of mathematics should understand the problems, even if the solutions require a great deal more knowledge. Supporters of this principle claim that this allows more universality and creates an incentive to find elegant, deceptively simple-looking problems which nevertheless require a certain level of ingenuity, often times a great deal of ingenuity to net all points for a given IMO problem.

The competitors must be under 20, and cannot be enrolled in a university.

The Olympics you’re more familiar with get underway on Friday with opening ceremonies.