Israel achieves historic best at International Mathematical Olympiad, securing 6th place globally
Israel's National Mathematics Team has achieved its most successful result in the country's history of participation in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), bringing home a remarkable six medals from the prestigious global competition held this year in Australia. All six team members earned medals, including four gold, one silver, and one bronze, propelling Israel to an impressive 6th place among 110 participating countries worldwide.
This marks a historic milestone for the Israeli mathematics team at the 66th IMO, an event founded in 1959. The Israeli contingent competed against 639 students, demonstrating unprecedented success.
12th grader Raz Dvora, a Rehovot resident and a 12th grader at De Shalit High School, 12th grader Eithan Grinzaid from Petah Tikva and a student at Ehad Ha'Am High School, 11th grader Shahar Blumentzvaig from Modi'in, a student at Atid Los Science High School, and Rehovot resident Yotam Nudnik, an 11th grader at De Shalit High School, all took home gold medals from the Math Olympiad.
Nadav Dan Tamari, a 12th grader from Ramat Gan and a student at Ohel Shem High School took home the silver medal, and 12th grader Ariel Doron, a resident of Ramat Hasharon studying at Kfar Hayarok, took home the bronze medal.
The preparation of Israel's national science teams for international Olympiads is spearheaded by the Israel's Education Ministry and the Maimonides Fund's Future Scientists Center.
The team were trained at the Weizmann Institute of Science
The mathematics team underwent rigorous training at the Weizmann Institute of Science, under the leadership of Academic Director Dr. Dmitry Novikov and Head Coach Lev Radzivilovsky. The delegation was led by Dr. Dan Carmon, supported by trainers Daniel Kaner, Giora Shvidler, and Ronel Lakker.
Education Minister Yoav Kisch, praised the students' achievements: "Within one week, Israel's students reminded the world — and ourselves — what's possible when an education system believes in excellence and nurtures it consistently.' He noted that following the recent victory in chemistry, the mathematics team "set a new benchmark with four gold medals and a record-breaking ranking — an achievement unmatched since Israel began participating in the Olympiad.'
Kisch attributed these results to "not only extraordinary students... but a clear educational vision, a strong partnership between the Education Ministry, the Future Scientists Center, and the Weizmann Institute, and above all, a deep commitment to giving our students the tools to break boundaries.' He concluded, "This is not just a week of success — rather the forward movement of an entire system.'
Yarom Ariav, Chairman of the Maimonides Fund's Future Scientists Center, described the accomplishment as "an historic and inspiring achievement that places Israel at the forefront on the stage of global mathematics.'
He congratulated the team and their trainers for instilling a sense of national pride and affirmed the center's commitment to continue working with the Education Ministry and academic institutions to provide advanced tools and opportunities for Israel's future generation.
Prof. Alon Chen, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science, lauded the team's accomplishment as "truly outstanding," calling it "a testament to the talent, hard work, and learning spirit of our youth, and to the tremendous potential they hold.'
He expressed pride in the Weizmann Institute's role in the team's scientific training, viewing the nurturing of tomorrow's scientific leadership as both a privilege and a mission. Prof. Chen emphasized that such achievements "go far beyond medals — they are milestones pointing to a future where Israel continues to lead, innovate, and shape the global stage.'
'I felt immense pride and a great honor to represent the State of Israel at the International Mathematical Olympiad, especially during this period we are in. I had the opportunity to meet and connect with people from all over the world who, just like me, love mathematics,' Gold medalist Eithan Ginzaid told the Jerusalem Post.
'Participating in the Olympiad, competing against students from 110 countries, and winning a gold medal are experiences I will never forget. For many years, I dedicated myself fully to reach this exciting moment!'
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Cancer survivor whose uterus was surgically repositioned inside of her gives birth to baby
Talk about a labor of love. An Israeli woman has delivered a healthy baby after undergoing a rare procedure that involved relocating her uterus to preserve her fertility during cancer treatments. The operation — performed only a handful of times worldwide — is opening new doors for young women whose fight to survive often shuts them out of motherhood. Advertisement 4 The healthy baby was recently delivered via C-section in Petah Tikva, Israel. Rattanachat – The patient, identified only as 'A,' is a woman in her early 30s who was diagnosed several years ago with stage 3 colorectal cancer. Doctors told her she'd need pelvic radiation to beat the disease — but the treatment threatened to permanently damage her uterus and thwart any chance of future pregnancy. So she made an unthinkable choice — and moved her womb out of the line of fire. Advertisement During a six-hour operation, doctors detached her uterus and ovaries from her pelvis and sutured them into her upper abdomen, just above the navel. 'The orientation of the uterus does not change,' said Dr. Ram Eitan, director of the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Rabin Beilinson Medical Center, who performed the surgery in 2022. 'We had pushed the boundaries of medicine to the maximum.' Dr. Ram Eitan, director of the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Rabin Beilinson Medical Center Advertisement 'The cervix remains facing downward as it was in the pelvis. This is maintained to prevent kinking of the blood supply to the organ,' he told The Post. Because of the procedure's complexity, a surgical robot was used for greater precision — crucial to ensure the uterus would remain functional for pregnancy. 4 Pelvic radiation therapy can inflict irreversible damage to the uterus that can permanently affect a woman's fertility. megaflopp – Advertisement About four months after completing radiation treatments, the woman underwent a second operation — this time in New York, in partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, to return her uterus to its natural position. 'She is completely cancer free,' Eitan said. When she called to say she was pregnant, it was an 'incredibly emotional moment,' he recalled. 'We realized we had pushed the boundaries of medicine to the maximum,' said Eitan, who also delivered the baby by C-section. 'It is rare and deeply inspiring to see a woman who has faced cancer, radiation and uterine transposition — and still manages to conceive and bring life into the world,' he added. 4 Risks of uterine transposition surgery involve potential loss of the uterus and hysterectomy. Yakobchuk Olena – The uterine transposition technique was first pioneered in Brazil. To date, only about 18 women worldwide have had the procedure — and the Israeli patient is just the sixth to give birth afterward. Memorial Sloan Kettering performed the first uterine transposition in the US in December 2020, on a woman diagnosed with rectal cancer just before her 27th birthday. Advertisement Since then, only a few other US hospitals — including Johns Hopkins and the Miami Cancer Institute — have begun offering the cutting-edge procedure. In March 2024, Dana Vergara became the first American woman to give birth following the surgery, also at Memorial Sloan Kettering. 4 Dana Vergara (pictured) was the first person in the US to deliver a baby after her uterus was repositioned during cancer treatment. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 'He's been a little champ. A totally healthy baby,' Vergara said of her son, Hudson. 'The doctor is so impressed and has no concerns.' Advertisement While cancer rates have fallen across most age groups in the US, they're steadily rising among young women by 1% to 2% each year, according to Johns Hopkins. This increase includes gynecological cancers like cervical and endometrial, as well as gastrointestinal cancers such as colorectal — many of which require pelvic radiation as part of treatment. Experts say this trend is likely to boost demand for fertility-saving procedures like uterine transposition. 'I'd do that surgery again in a heartbeat,' Vergara said. 'And I'd recommend it to any woman in a similar situation.'
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Associated Press
Russia successfully puts an Iranian communications satellite into orbit
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian rocket on Friday successfully put an Iranian communications satellite into orbit, a launch that highlighted strong ties between the two countries. The Soyuz rocket lifted off as scheduled from Vostochny launchpad in far eastern Russia. It carried two Russian Ionosphere-M Earth observation satellites, along with Iran's Nahid-2 satellite and 17 smaller Russian satellites, and put them into designated orbits. The 110-kilogram (242-pound) Iranian satellite is supposed to circle the Earth on a 500-kilometer (310-mile) orbit and has a service lifetime of two years. In November, Russia launched a pair of Iranian satellites named Kowsar and Hodhod, the first launched on behalf of the country's private sector. It followed two previous Russian launches of Iranian satellites in 2022 and 2024. Russia, which signed a 'strategic partnership' treaty with Iran in January, strongly condemned the Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran last month. Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns. At the same time, Putin has emphasized that Tehran hasn't asked Moscow for military assistance and noted that the partnership treaty doesn't envision such aid. Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to maintain warm relations with Israel even as it developed strong economic and military ties with Iran.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Humans beat AI at annual math Olympiad, but the machines are catching up
Sydney — Humans beat generative AI models made by Google and OpenAI at a top international mathematics competition, but the programs reached gold-level scores for the first time, and the rate at which they are improving may be cause for some human introspection. Neither of the AI models scored full marks — unlike five young people at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), a prestigious annual competition where participants must be under 20 years old. Google said Monday that an advanced version of its Gemini chatbot had solved five out of the six math problems set at the IMO, held in Australia's Queensland this month. "We can confirm that Google DeepMind has reached the much-desired milestone, earning 35 out of a possible 42 points - a gold medal score," the U.S. tech giant cited IMO president Gregor Dolinar as saying. "Their solutions were astonishing in many respects. IMO graders found them to be clear, precise and most of them easy to follow." Around 10% of human contestants won gold-level medals, and five received perfect scores of 42 points. U.S. ChatGPT maker OpenAI said its experimental reasoning model had also scored a gold-level 35 points on the test. The result "achieved a longstanding grand challenge in AI" at "the world's most prestigious math competition," OpenAI researcher Alexander Wei said in a social media post. "We evaluated our models on the 2025 IMO problems under the same rules as human contestants," he said. "For each problem, three former IMO medalists independently graded the model's submitted proof." Google achieved a silver-medal score at last year's IMO in the city of Bath, in southwest England, solving four of the six problems. That took two to three days of computation — far longer than this year, when its Gemini model solved the problems within the 4.5-hour time limit, it said. The IMO said tech companies had "privately tested closed-source AI models on this year's problems," the same ones faced by 641 competing students from 112 countries. "It is very exciting to see progress in the mathematical capabilities of AI models," said IMO president Dolinar. Contest organizers could not verify how much computing power had been used by the AI models or whether there had been human involvement, he noted. In an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes earlier this year, one of Google's leading AI researchers predicted that within just five to 10 years, computers would be made that have human-level cognitive abilities — a landmark known as "artificial general intelligence." Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis predicted that AI technology was on track to understand the world in nuanced ways, and to not only solve important problems, but even to develop a sense of imagination, within a decade, thanks to an increase in investment. "It's moving incredibly fast," Hassabis said. "I think we are on some kind of exponential curve of improvement. Of course, the success of the field in the last few years has attracted even more attention, more resources, more talent. So that's adding to the, to this exponential progress." Detroit lawnmower gang still going strong after 15 years Legendary singer Ozzy Osbourne dies at 76 Sneak peek: The Case of the Black Swan (Part 1) Solve the daily Crossword
