Vietnamese people who achieved perfect scores at the International Math Olympiad

1. Le Ba Khanh Trinh: Dr. Le Ba Khanh Trinh was the first Vietnamese person to achieve a perfect score at IMO, specifically 40/40 points in 1979, and also won a special prize for a unique solution in this exam. At that time, he was known as the

1. Le Ba Khanh Trinh: Dr. Le Ba Khanh Trinh was the first Vietnamese person to achieve a perfect score at IMO, specifically 40/40 points in 1979, and also won a special prize for a unique solution in this exam. At that time, he was known as the "Golden Boy of Vietnamese Mathematics". After IMO, the golden boy was admitted directly to the Faculty of Mathematics - Mechanics, Lomonosov Moscow State University and did research under the guidance of Academician Andrey Alexandrovich Gontrar. After successfully defending his doctoral thesis, he returned to Vietnam and worked at Ho Chi Minh City National University, and spent many years leading the Vietnamese IMO team. Recently, in February 2025, after many years as the head of the Math team at the Gifted High School, Dr. Le Ba Khanh Trinh stopped being the head of the team, but is still attached to the school as an advisor. Photo: Quyen Quyen.

2. Le Tu Quoc Thang : Professor Le Tu Quoc Thang (born in 1965 in Hue ) is the next Vietnamese person to achieve a perfect score at the International Mathematical Olympiad. He achieved this in 1982 - when he was only 17 years old. After winning the IMO gold medal, he was admitted directly to the Faculty of Mathematics - Mechanics of Lomonosov Moscow State University - the oldest university in Russia and the leading mathematics center at that time. After graduating, the 1982 IMO gold medal winner continued his doctoral studies, then worked at many prestigious institutes and universities in Japan, the US, Germany...

3. Dam Thanh Son : In 1984, Professor Dam Thanh Son - then only 15 years old - followed in his senior's footsteps to score 42/42 points in the IMO exam. Born into an intellectual family, his father was Professor Dam Trung Bao, his mother was Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Hao, Professor Dam Thanh Son was famous since childhood for being exceptionally good at studying and having a talent for Mathematics. After taking the IMO exam, in 1985, the boy Dam Thanh Son went to Russia to study at the Physics Department of Lomonosov University. He then received his doctorate and was appointed as a university professor in the US, then became the head of the Physics Department of the University of Washington. Photo: Phenikaa University.

4. Ngo Bao Chau: In 1988, Professor Ngo Bao Chau achieved a perfect score in the IMO exam and was the only candidate of the Vietnamese team to win a gold medal that year. Not only did he win the IMO gold medal twice, Professor Ngo Bao Chau was also the first Vietnamese to win the prestigious Fields Medal in 2010. Previously, he won the Clay Prize in 2004 and was honored as a Vietnamese Professor in 2005. In 2010, he was appointed an honorary doctorate by Hanoi National University and then became the Scientific Director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics from March 2011. Photo: Moet.

5. Dinh Tien Cuong: Professor Dinh Tien Cuong was the next Vietnamese to score 42/42 points at IMO, in 1989 - when he was only 16 years old. Born in 1973 in a family with a tradition of being teachers in Hai Duong (old), Professor Dinh Tien Cuong showed his talent for studying well from a young age and was valedictorian in the 10th grade exam for the specialized Mathematics program of Hanoi Pedagogical University (now Hanoi Pedagogical University High School). After winning the IMO gold medal, he went to Odessa University to study Information Technology, then went to France to pursue Mathematics. In 1998, he was awarded the title of associate professor by the French Ministry of Education, then 7 years later was promoted to the title of professor - when he was only 32 years old.

6. Ngo Dac Tuan: Professor Ngo Dac Tuan achieved a perfect score of 42/42 in the International Mathematical Olympiad in 1995. According to the Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, Professor Tuan studied at the A0 Mathematics block at the Hanoi University of Science. After completing two years of general university, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Polytechnic School of Paris (France), graduating with a bachelor's degree in Engineering in 2000 and a master's degree in Mathematics in 2001. Three years later, he received a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Paris 11. After a period of postdoctoral research at the Institute for Advanced Study IHES (France), since 2005, he has worked at the French Center for Fundamental Scientific Research (CNRS), from the position of associate professor and then professor.

7. Do Quoc Anh: Professor Do Quoc Anh (born in 1980) competed in IMO twice in 1996 and 1997. In 1996, he only won a bronze medal, but in 1997 he achieved a perfect score and won a gold medal - also the only gold medal of Vietnam that year. After IMO, he received a scholarship from the French government and went to this country to study for a bachelor's and master's degree. Then, he went to the US to do a doctoral research at Harvard University. Currently, Professor Quoc Anh works at the Faculty of Economics, Monash University (Australia) and has many studies related to applied microeconomics, social network economics, cultural economics... Photo: CEPR.

8-9: Le Hung Viet Bao - Nguyen Trong Canh: 2003 was a special year for Vietnam when the IMO team had 2 candidates with perfect scores, Le Hung Viet Bao and Nguyen Trong Canh. Professor Le Hung Viet Bao showed his outstanding mathematical thinking early on and nurtured his passion for mathematics from a young age. He was once honored by Forbes in the Top 30 Under 30 list of Asia. Meanwhile, Professor Nguyen Trong Canh started from specialized classes and gradually affirmed his talent through national exams, before continuing his academic journey abroad. Photo: Forbes.

10. Ngo Quy Dang: 20 years after the absolute achievement of the pair Le Hung Viet Bao and Nguyen Trong Canh, Vietnam once again has a contestant winning a gold medal with an absolute score at IMO, Ngo Quy Dang (born in 2004). Thanks to his impressive achievement, Quy Dang was awarded the Second Class Labor Medal by the President, received a certificate of merit from the Central Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union... Dang is also a promising young face of Vietnam in 2020, a typical young face at Hanoi National University. Quy Dang is a typical face in the field of Study. Photo: Moet.

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