Ukrainian girls’ math team wins top European spot during olympiad

The Ukrainian girls’ mathematics team won the top European team in the 2023 Olympiad, the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad announced on its website Tuesday. There were 55 teams – 38 from Europe – from around the world competing in this year’s international mathematics competition in Slovenia. 

China nabbed the top overall mathematics prize, followed by the United States and Australia, with Ukraine placing fourth– but first overall among European competitors. In total, 213 high school-age girls took part in the competition; European countries such as Italy, France, Finland and the Netherlands sent 115 contestants, with the remainder coming from countries as diverse as Mexico, Brazil, Israel and Saudi Arabia. To compete in the international competition, the girls had to win a national competition in their home country, the organization said.

Over two consecutive days, girls solved three mathematical problems and had four and a half hours to write solutions. Answers were scored and medals were awarded based on the problem’s complexity. Ukraine’s team took home 1 gold medal and 3 silver medals –making them the most successful European team in the competition. Over all there were 26 gold medals awarded and 36 silver medals awarded, according to results posted on the organization’s website.

Ukrainian media reported that a participant’s mother, Liudmyla Frankevych, posted on her social media that the girls ” never aim for participation” but instead “only for victory” – and this year “they managed it for glory!”

In 2022, the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad, which has been running math competitions for a decade, decided to exclude Russia as a country eligible to participate due to its invasion of Ukraine. Four Russian girls were allowed to compete as private citizens, but not represent the country, the organization said.

Later that year, Ukrainian Yuliia Zdanovska, a contestant in 2016 and 2017 and a silver medalist, was killed by Russian shelling in the city of Kharkiv. Zdanovska, who dreamed of teaching math to kids in rural villages, was 21 years old, according to the organization.

After Zdanovska’s death, the math department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology started a free math enrichment program for Ukrainian refugees in her honor.