Young Tico Wins Bronze Medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad

Gabriel Najmias represented Costa Rica at the International Mathematical Olympiad and competed against people from France, Thailand, Greece, the Philippines, Singapore and China

“It was a pride to have the country stand high and to be able to go on stage with the Costa Rican flag and recieve the medal.” This is how Gabriel Najmias summarizes his participation in the International Mathematical Olympiad, last July in the city of Chiba, Japan.

The 17-year-old is a member of the Costa Rican delegation that participated in the international competition; he won the bronze medal after a process that he assures was characterized by effort and passion.

During the nine days of participation, Najmias competed against people from countries such as: France, Singapore, Thailand, China, Australia, the Philippines and Greece, representing Costa Rica, one of the six nations that came to the event from Latin America.

Great experience

“The experience is by far the best part. You meet many people from more than a hundred countries in the world, with similar interests. I have made very good friends through the Olympics. In 2022 he had gone in person to the Norwegian international and the Ibero-American in Colombia”, said the young man.

To qualify, Najmias had to be a 1st runner-up in a national Olympiad in previous years, to be invited to take part in the qualifiers, which included four exams over two weekends.

Self-confidence and dreaming big

As advice to young people who want to achieve goals like going to the Olympics, the bronze medal winner mentioned the importance of having self-confidence and dreaming big.

“Everything is possible with effort and dedication. I started participating in the math Olympiads with the OLCOMA National Olympiad when I was in seventh grade. At first I doubted if I would be able to qualify for the final or not, and after several years of preparation this year I was able to bring the country a medal in one of the most prestigious Olympics in the world”, said Najmias.

Currently, the Olympic participant gives free training to primary school students who wish to participate in the National Primary Mathematics Olympiad (OLCOMEP), as well as tutoring to public school students.