4 medals for Philippines in math Olympiad in Singapore

All four high-school student-contestants from the Philippines won medals in the just-concluded inaugural Raffles Invitational Mathematics Olympiad (RIMO) in Singapore.

Mikaela Angeline Uy, a third-year high-school student of the St. Jude Catholic School in Manila, bagged a silver medal in the nine-nation competition organized by the prestigious Raffles Institution, one of the oldest schools in the island-state.

Uy’s team mates—Camille Dee from the Immaculate Conception Academy in San Juan City, Brandon Chua from the Philippine Cultural College in Caloocan City, and Russelle Guadalupe from the Valenzuela Science High School in Valenzuela City—won a bronze medal each.

Dr. Simon Chua, president of the Mathematics Trainers’ Guild-Philippines (MTG) and head of the country’s delegation, said they were “very happy for the Philippine team members and their performance in the first-ever RIMO.”

Aside from the Philippines, China and host Singapore, also represented at RIMO were Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand.

Chua said Middle School No. 1, attached to the Central China Normal University in Wuhan, China, was named best team.

Uy was one of 16 silver medalists while there were 36 bronze medal winners.

Chua said, from among 100 participants, eight got gold medals, including two participants from China—Zuo Hao from Wuhan and Gao Zihun from Beijing.

Fifteen participants got honorable mention honors, he said.

The RIMO is a biennial event that “provides a platform for discovering, encouraging and challenging mathematically gifted Grade 7 to 12 students to pit their skills in a rigorous competition,” said the contest’s website.

The MTG trains Filipino elementary and high-school students for math contests worldwide, including those hosted by China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Canada, India and Singapore.