Ukrainian team wins European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad

A team of Ukrainian math prodigies triumphed at the twelfth European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) held in Portorož, Slovenia, from April 13 to 19, according to the EGMO website.

The aggregate score of Polina Henyk, who won a gold medal individually, and silver medalists Yevheniia Frankevych, Iryna Romaniuk and Maryna Spektrova was the best among European teams.

“The victory of our girls’ national team of Ukraine in mathematics is our children’s contribution to our great victory, which we all believe in and to which we are moving step by step thanks to our valiant Armed Forces of Ukraine!” said Yevheniia Frankevych’s mother, Liudmyla.

Although the math contest is European, it is open to contestants from any country. Competing in Portorož were 56 national teams representing all continents of the world.

But not Russia.

In March 2022, the EGMO Board met twice to discuss how to react to the Russian aggression in Ukraine. They decided to exclude Russia from the Olympiad as a team but allowed four students from Russia to compete remotely as private individuals without national flags or symbols.

Just three days before the EGMO Board met, on March 3, 2022, Yuliia Zdanovska, EGMO contestant of 2016 and 2017, was killed in shelling by Russian forces in Kharkiv. She was only 21.

When the war started, Yuliia chose to stay in Kharkiv and help because this was her hometown. She said, “I am staying in Kharkiv until we win.” It was her last message on Telegram.

The European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad is an international competition addressing female high school students whose commitment to mathematics goes beyond the usual school curriculum.