Pinoy math whiz kids bag 16 medals

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ math whiz kids harvested a crop of 16 medals, including 5 golds, in the Asia Inter-Cities Teenagers Mathematics Olympiad (AITMO) held in Kavre, Nepal this week.

All the 16 Filipino contestants managed to win a medal each that they brought home when the delegation arrived in Manila yesterday afternoon.

They bagged five gold, seven silver and four bronze medals, enabling the Philippines to wind up second in the individual medal tally.

“Filipino students once again showed their outstanding performance in an international math competition,” said Simon Chua, president of the Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines.

Chua said in addition to the individual medals, the three Philippine teams fielded in the tournament also got second place while another placed third in the team contest.

Gold medalists for the Philippines are Deany Hendrick Cheng and Sean Timothy Cheng of Grace Christian College, Reine Jiana Reynoso of Philippine Science High School-Main, Julius Vincent Sy of St. Stephen’s High School and Timothy James Tan of Trinity Christian School-Bacolod.

Garnering silver medals are Nathaniel Ryan Ang of Xavier School, Brandon Chan of Philippine Cultural College-Annex, Sherralyn Bernice Chan of Saint Jude Catholic School, Ethan Riley Chan of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School, Rachel Rojo of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School, Mikaela Angelina Uy of Saint Jude Catholic School and Keefe Collin Tan of Saint Jude Catholic School.

Bronze medalists are Audrey Celine Lao of Saint Jude Catholic School, Georemie Arrianne Concepcion of Philippine Science High School-Main, Shawn Gabriele Cabanes of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School and Kennichi Tan of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School.

Chua said 32 teams from 13 countries competed in the contest. They were from South Korea, China, Thailand, Bulgaria, Indonesia, India, Iran, South Africa, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Philippines and host country Nepal. –Rainier Allan Ronda (The Philippine Star)