Male student with cerebral palsy becomes phenomenon of international math Olympiad

(Dan Tri) - Tu Ky Minh is one of the six contestants on the Chinese team attending the International Math Olympiad. He was born with cerebral palsy, but is considered the math prodigy with the most stable performance on the team.

The contestant with cerebral palsy was considered the most courageous of the Chinese delegation.

11th grade student Tu Ky Minh attracted attention at the International Mathematical Olympiad from the moment he first appeared at the competition last year. Tu Ky Minh was born with cerebral palsy, which made it difficult for him to maintain his balance while moving. Ky Minh's gait was always unsteady, and he also had difficulty controlling his facial expressions.

This year, the International Mathematical Olympiad was held in Australia. Qi Ming and five other contestants helped the Chinese team win the 2025 International Mathematical Olympiad. Last year, the Chinese team finished second, behind the US team. The success of the Chinese team in general and Xu Qi Ming's determination in particular caused interest in the male student to increase dramatically.

Despite his physical problems, Qi Ming soon showed his talent for mathematics and gradually asserted himself in the Chinese national mathematics team. In the academic world, the national mathematics team of the country of a billion people is known as one of the most competitive teams of child prodigies.

When participating in the 2025 Math Olympiad, Ky Minh did not receive any special care from the Organizing Committee. According to the competition regulations, all contestants must solve 3 problems in 4.5 hours, the exam is conducted over two days. Ky Minh took 2 exams according to the general regulations, without any priority or special treatment.

Every year, the Chinese national math team selects 30 high school students with the best math ability to join the team, to prepare for the International Mathematical Olympiad. After 2 rounds of selection within the team, the 6 best students will be selected to join the national team to officially compete.

Last year, Ky Minh was also selected to compete in the International Math Olympiad and won a gold medal. After 2 years of participating in the competition and winning gold, although he was not the one with the highest score in the group in the past two years, Ky Minh was always considered a math prodigy with stable performance and the best competitive spirit.

Mr. Liang Xiao, head coach of the Chinese Math Olympiad team, commented: “Xu Qiming showed outstanding ability in solving difficult problems. Although he was not the contestant with the most impressive high score in the group, I think he has outstanding composure and intelligence.”

Tu Ky Minh (second from right) with members of the Chinese delegation at the 2025 International Mathematical Olympiad (Photo: Jimu News).

Second time winning gold, first time winning the championship with the team

In 2024, Ky Minh won his first gold medal at the International Math Olympiad with 35/42 points, ranking 5/609 contestants. But in 2024, the Chinese team was 2 points behind the American team, so they finished second and ended their 5-year winning streak at the world's most prestigious math competition.

This year, Ky Minh and his 5 teammates were determined to regain the overall first place for the Chinese team and succeeded.

For the first five problems, all six Chinese contestants scored a perfect score of 35 points. Meanwhile, two members of the American team lost a total of 3 points. For the sixth problem - the last and most difficult problem - the Chinese team scored a total of 21 points, including two perfect solutions, 9 points more than the American team.

So Ky Minh received his second gold medal at the International Math Olympiad, and joined forces with his teammates to help the Chinese team win convincingly against their long-time "arch-rival" - the US team.

This year, Ky Minh scored a total of 36/42 points, ranking 12th out of 630 contestants. The Chinese team won the championship this year with 6 gold medals and a total of 231 points. The US team ranked second with 216 points, including 5 gold medals and 1 silver medal.

The International Mathematical Olympiad always attracts the attention of the world's media and public, because it is not only a purely intellectual competition of the academic world, but also reflects the potential and talent of the elite of countries in the field of mathematics.

The 2025 International Mathematical Olympiad features the appearance of famous mathematician Terence Tao (Photo: Sina).

The event brings together the best minds in mathematics

Since 2000, eight medalists at the International Mathematical Olympiad have won the Fields Medal - the most prestigious award in the global mathematics community.

One of the most famous people to come out of this competition is the Chinese-Australian mathematician Terence Tao (now 50 years old). Terence Tao won a gold medal at the 1988 International Mathematical Olympiad at the age of... 13, making him the youngest contestant in the history of the competition to achieve this feat.

37 years later, Terence Tao - a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (USA) - attended the closing ceremony of this year's competition to honor the most outstanding contestants.

The mathematician shared sincerely at the event: “Problem number 6, as usual, was really difficult and almost no one could solve it. Even I... gave up. The world is very unpredictable today. I cannot say for sure what will happen in the future. But here, which is considered the pinnacle arena of mathematical competition, among the best brains, you have overcome the challenge.”

At the closing ceremony, the host team Australia handed over the flag of the competition to the Chinese team. Next year, the competition will be held in Shanghai (China).

The first International Mathematical Olympiad was held in 1959. China did not participate in the competition until 1985, when it won its first bronze medal. Four years later, China won its first International Mathematical Olympiad. In the 36 years it has participated, the Chinese team has finished first 25 times, winning a total of 191 gold medals.

According to SCMP/Jimu News

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/nam-sinh-bai-nao-tro-thanh-hien-tuong-cua-cuoc-thi-olympic-toan-quoc-te-20250723105536202.htm