The Philippine teams continue to break records for their performance in the different prestigious international science and mathematics competitions.

For this year, the outstanding Filipino students won a total of five silver medals, 14 bronze medals and three honorable mentions, with all teams securing top standings in each of the competitions — making this season, by far, the country's greatest and grandest win in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (or STEM) Olympiads.

The competitions were: 64th International Mathematical Olympiad in Chiba, Japan on 2-13 July; 34th International Biology Olympiad in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates on 3-12 July; 53rd International Physics Olympiad in Tokyo, Japan on 10-17 July; 55th International Chemistry Olympiad in Zurich, Switzerland on 16-25 July; 35th International Olympiad in Informatics in Szeged, Hungary on 24 August-4 September; 19th International Geography Olympiad in Bandung, Indonesia on 8-14 August; and 16th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics in Chorzow, Poland on 10-20 August.

Incredible journey

After the strenuous yet victorious preparations to compete on the international stage, the Philippine teams returned with increased confidence in their abilities ready to share their success stories of competing and winning medals in their respective delegations.

Hazel Joy Shi, team leader to the 64th IMO, recounted the Philippine Team's journey in preparation for the competition, including the selection process through the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Camp and the different extensive and rigorous training. She also took pride in the team's achievement detailing that this year's performance garnered the highest cumulative team score since 1988 (at 145 points), advancing the country's ranking from 55th in 2022 to 26th this year.