China loses maths Olympiad to US but genius student Shi Haojia remains on top of the game

16-year-old’s perfect score is a repeat of his success last year and makes him the fourth Chinese competitor to achieve the record

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Shi Haojia, 16, from Zhejiang province, eastern China was the only contestant at the 65th International Mathematical Olympiad to achieve a perfect score. Photo: Handout

Published: 2:00pm, 23 Jul 2024Updated: 3:53pm, 23 Jul 2024

China lost its sixth consecutive International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) on Monday, trailing the US by two points, but young genius Shi Haojia once again achieved a perfect score in the world’s premier high school maths competition.

The 16-year-old topped the individual rankings for the second year in a row to win another gold medal and become the fourth Chinese competitor to achieve this record, following in the footsteps of mathematical whizz Wei Dongyi.

Haojia, from the eastern province of Zhejiang, scored a perfect seven points in each of the competition’s six problems – the only one to do so out of the 609 students from 108 countries who gathered in Bath, Britain for the 65th IMO.

In the team rankings, the US took first place with 192 points while the Chinese team came second, with a total score of 190.

Since the first IMO was held in 1959 in Romania with teams from seven countries taking part, the competition has gradually expanded to more than 100 countries from five continents, with each country sending a team of up to six high school students.

China has maintained a competitive momentum at the event over the past three decades, winning its first title in 1989 and taking the top spot a total of 24 times.