Romania Wins First Place at Junior Balkan Mathematical Olympiad 2022

At the 26th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad for Juniors, Romania’s Olympic junior team set a record by winning four gold and two silver medals, placing them first in the country rankings.

Romania’s Olympic junior team achieved an impressive record at the 26th edition of the Balkan Mathematical Olympiad for Juniors / JBMO (Sarajevo, June 26 – July 3): four gold medals (two of which with maximum points), two silver medals and first place in the nation ranking with 224 points (out of 240 possible). This score sets a record in the history of the competition in terms of the overall score on teams, the Romanian team being the first to reach it.

Romanian Ministry of Education

The Romanian team participants are all in the eighth grade, and they are Aida Mitroi from Gymnasium School No. 16 “Take Ionescu” in Timisoara, Victor Vasile Dragos from Vasile Lucaciu National College in Baia Mare, Radu Ionut Stoleriu from Emil Racovita National College in Iasi, and Andrei Vila from Bucharest International High School of Informatics.

Victor-Vasile Dragos and Aida Mitroi completed the tests with the highest scores possible (40 points).

David Ghibu and Emanuel Mazare from the International High School of Informatics in Bucharest presented the silver medals (“Mihai Eminescu” High School in Pitesti).

This edition of the Junior Balkan Mathematical Olympiad, which is open to students under the age of 15, featured competitors from 18 nations (including 11 countries with membership: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey, and 7 with guest status: Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, France, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan). Teams typically have six students, and the host nation is allowed to submit two teams to the competition.

Congratulations are also due to the teachers who prepared and guided them, both in the group and in school, to the families who support them and to the Romanian school of mathematics, whose value is reconfirmed by this result as well! I’m proud of you. ! Congratulations everyone!

Sorin Cimpeanu, Romanian Ministry of Education

These performances of Romanian students are remarkable and deserve to be appreciated and encouraged. However, our praise and appreciation are not enough to meet the high level that these children reached alongside teachers who are genuinely dedicated to their profession. This award is not the only one. Recently the Romanian students from Cluj-Napoca, Western Romania, won an international competition for seismic design.

The perseverance and talent of these children in a so-called outdated education system with very few resources and funds to encourage young people in their pursuits are remarkable.