Two brothers won international math gold medals

Hai Phong An Thinh and his brother both won IMO gold medals, the first pair of siblings in Vietnam to achieve this achievement in the past 50 years.

Ms. Bui Thi Hoa, mother of Nguyen An Thinh, could not hide her emotions on the night of July 11 when she heard the news that her son won the gold medal at the 2023 International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Japan. Thinh is her second son, a 12th grade IT major student at Tran Phu High School for the Gifted.

Four years ago, Nguyen Thuan Hung, Thinh's older brother, was also one of two Vietnamese contestants who won gold at IMO 2019. Hung is currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science at the National University of Singapore - the school ranked 8th in the world university rankings, according to QS.

"I think An Thinh is under a lot of pressure because of his brother's achievements. I'm glad he overcame everything," Ms. Hoa shared.

Hung also burst into tears when the organizers announced the results. Hung recalled that once when he was teaching the Hai Phong Math team, Thinh, who was only in 9th grade at the time, also wanted to follow him to class. Although it was still too early to learn 12th grade Math knowledge, Hung felt his younger brother's passion and ability. Unfortunately, when he took the 10th grade entrance exam, Thinh failed the Math major.

"Thinh has continuously studied on his own, stood up after falling and showed a strong passion for Math. I feel grateful that the efforts of Thinh, his teachers and his family have been rewarded," Hung said on the morning of July 12.

Hung and Thinh are the first pair of siblings to win a gold medal after nearly 50 years of Vietnam participating in the IMO, since 1974. Previously, the IMO team had siblings who won silver medals: Nguyen The Trung in 1995 and Nguyen Trung Tu in 1999.

In addition, a pair of cousins ​​who won medals were Ha Huy Minh (bronze medal in 1989) and Ha Huy Tai (silver medal in 1991). The third case of relatives is Tran Nam Dung (uncle), silver medalist of IMO 1983 and Le Nam Truong (nephew), silver medalist of IMO 2006.

An Thinh (middle) with his brother, parents (right), teachers Doan Thai Son, Le Duc Thinh before going to Japan to compete in the IMO, on July 2. Photo by Xuan Hoa

According to Ms. Hoa, the two sons are good, sociable, and love each other very much. While Thuan Hung likes to play sports, especially soccer, An Thinh is quite romantic with the ability to play the piano and chess. However, both of them have loved Math since childhood, inspired by teacher Hoang Van Hung at Chu Van An Secondary School, and later by teacher Le Duc Thinh at Tran Phu High School for the Gifted.

Teacher Le Duc Thinh assessed that although their personalities were different, the two brothers' mathematical abilities were similar, especially outstanding in the areas of combinatorics and geometry. When competing in IMO 2023, both teacher and student were relaxed and not under pressure. After finishing the test, An Thinh shared with his teacher that he felt a bit regretful because the solution was not complete.

"However, I always believed that An Thinh could win gold, so the result did not surprise me," said teacher Le Duc Thinh. In addition to An Thinh, another student of the school, Nguyen Dinh Kien, grade 11, won a silver medal. Kien won a gold medal at the prestigious International Mathematics Competition for 11-12 year olds (IMSO) in 2018.

Mr. Thinh acknowledged that IMO is a prestigious competition, with many countries investing in many rounds for selection and training. The US, Canada, Singapore, and Australia teams also have many students of Chinese origin, so they are very strong. Therefore, the Vietnamese team in general and the students of Tran Phu High School for the Gifted in particular winning medals are very proud.

This year, all 6 Vietnamese students participating in the IMO won prizes, including 2 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze. The Vietnamese delegation ranked 6th out of more than 110 countries and territories, after China, the US, South Korea, Romania, and Japan.

Source link