The 66th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) 2025 was held on the Sunshine Coast, Australia, attracting 113 participating countries. The Vietnamese team achieved a high ranking: 9th overall with 2 Gold Medals, 3 Silver Medals and 1 Bronze Medal, the owner was Truong Thanh Xuan, the only female student in the team.
This is also the first time since 2020 that Vietnam has had a female student participating in this prestigious math playground.
“I felt very happy and relieved after knowing the results. Because there was pressure. I was not only competing for myself but also representing my school, my province, and more broadly, my country,” Xuan shared with Knowledge and Life when she returned home from the competition.
Xuan was born in 2008, is an 11th grade student majoring in Mathematics at Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted. In the national team selection round, he ranked 4th out of 48 students nationwide, surpassing many excellent faces to be named in the IMO team.
Love Math as a natural habit
Unlike the popular image of learning Math as a stressful and pressured journey, Truong Thanh Xuan chose a completely different approach. Instead of focusing on achievements or racing to take extra classes, he prioritizes self-study methods and persistently nurtures his passion.
When asked about her study secrets, Xuan shared that she does not put pressure on herself about the results, but keeps her spirit of learning Math in an exciting and comfortable way. Every evening, she spends about 2 to 3 hours studying by herself, while also focusing on getting enough rest and not staying up late, to ensure alertness for the next day.
During the learning process, Xuan pays special attention to the selectivity of the materials. She actively avoids rambling, focusing on understanding the essence instead of solving a lot of problems.
“Every time I study, I will classify the exercises into certain types and study deeply to understand ‘why do it this way and not that way’, and what hints the problem suggests. For a math problem, the most important thing is to find the original idea... Studying math to understand the nature is better than doing many exercises,” Xuan said.
When facing a difficult problem, Xuan often tries to think it through. If he still hasn’t found a solution, he will pause to relax by walking, listening to light music, and then come back with a clearer mind. In cases where he is really “stuck”, Xuan will ask his teachers or seniors, but he absolutely does not give up. According to Xuan, the learning environment at Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted also plays an important role when he is closely supported by teachers, from providing documents, suggesting ways to do things to organizing assessment tests.
That effort helped Xuan achieve high results in the National Excellent Student Exam for the 2023-2024 school year with second prize in Mathematics, and continued success at the 2025 International Math Olympiad.
There was a time when I wanted to put aside studying Math.
Although he won the Silver Medal in the National Math Club for Children competition in grade 5, the Second Prize at the provincial level in grade 8 and the Third Prize in grade 9, Xuan's journey in learning Math was not entirely smooth when he entered high school. According to Mr. Le Dang Dien, Xuan's homeroom teacher and direct Math teacher, at first Xuan did not stand out compared to his classmates.
Entering Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted, Xuan paid much attention to extracurricular activities such as debate, environment, and English. He used to be the Deputy Head of the School's Debate Club. Intensive Mathematics was not a priority choice at that time.
“In grade 10, I was still confused and had no clear direction. I tried to study all subjects and participate in extracurricular activities. At one point, I decided to temporarily put aside specialized mathematics to focus on IELTS preparation and pursue my dream of studying economics abroad. The reason was that I had not really decided on studying specialized mathematics, and I still liked many other things,” Xuan recounted.
The turning point came during the summer vacation after grade 10, when teachers in the Math department discovered Xuan's special qualities in class. Observing the learning process, Mr. Dien noticed that Xuan had made rapid progress. She had smart, unique ways of solving math problems, quick and logical thinking, especially with problems related to Combinations.
"This is a difficult field of knowledge, requiring acumen, analytical ability and high creativity, qualities that Thanh Xuan gradually revealed clearly," Mr. Dien recalled.
After the summer vacation, Xuan joined the intensive Math class organized by the school. Gradually, she regained her inspiration with math problems, persistently overcame her weaknesses and proactively learned more from her seniors as well as from quality documents on the Internet.
Putting aside his IELTS preparation plan to focus on Math quickly brought positive results. At the National Excellent Student Exam for the 2023-2024 school year, Xuan won second prize in Math, just 0.5 points short of first prize. This result helped him qualify for the IMO team selection round.
Don't be afraid, set goals
A notable point in Xuan's journey is that she always maintains extracurricular activities besides studying Math. The skills learned from the Debate Club such as logical reasoning, coherent presentation, and quick rebuttal have significantly helped her Mathematical thinking. "From debate, I learned how to come up with ideas, gain more practical knowledge, come up with arguments, build logical arguments, create a domino chain leading to what I want to say...", Xuan shared.
Even when he doesn’t have much time to participate in regular activities, Xuan still takes advantage of opportunities to be an MC for school programs, practice his presentation skills and maintain a balance in his studies. For him, these activities are not only entertainment but also an opportunity to broaden his thinking and refresh himself.
When feeling stressed, Xuan chooses to take a walk, sing a song or take a short break before returning to the page. This method helps her stay mentally stable and not get “caught up” in the invisible pressure during the exam preparation process.
“I realized that it wasn’t because I couldn’t do it, but because I doubted myself and wasn’t determined enough. Human strength is limitless, so don’t be afraid, just set a goal,” Xuan said.
Xuan’s perspective on learning Math is also very clear: don’t learn by trick, don’t do it mechanically. “If you change your perspective, Math has soul, ideas, and understand the thinking of the person who sets the questions, learning Math is not difficult. Learning Math well helps develop logical thinking, solve problems quickly, complement other natural subjects, or simply go to the market and pay faster than the salesgirl,” she shared.
“The journey of preparing for and participating in IMO 2025 is a special and extremely meaningful journey. This is not only an opportunity for me to experience an intensive mathematical environment, but also to meet and connect with global mathematical talents. I am grateful to my teachers, family and friends who have encouraged, supported and empowered me throughout the past time to achieve remarkable initial achievements. I promise to try harder in the 2025-2026 school year,” Xuan shared.
Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/tung-suyt-bo-toan-nu-sinh-cham-huy-chuong-imo-post1556303.html
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