High school student Rogelio Guerrero Reyes, originally from Aguascalientes, became the first Mexican to win two gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), after obtaining the second of them in the 65th edition of the competition that concluded yesterday in Bath, United Kingdom.
Last year in Japan, the 18-year-old won the top prize at the competition, which is considered the most important in the world in this field.
Mexico placed second in Latin America and 24th in the overall medal table, also thanks to the performance of Takumi Higashida Martínez and Héctor Juan Villarreal Corona, both from the country’s capital and recognized with silver medals; while José Andrés Zamora Moncada, from San Luis Potosí, and Mateo Iván Latapí Acosta, also from Mexico City, won bronze. Emiliano Hernández Barranco from Mexico City received an honorable mention.
Rogelio’s award this year is the sixth gold medal for the country in the history of national participation in the IMO, which began in 1981.
I wanted to make history
In an interview with The Day Over the phone, the two-time champion said that his Olympic gold “is a goal that I had visualized two years ago, when I participated in the IMO 2022 in Oslo, Norway, because I had the goal of making history and leaving a mark.
I talked to my classmates about the possibility of being the first person in Mexico to win two gold medals. Fortunately, this year the dream came true, which means a lot of hard work and, above all, the passion I have for mathematics. This is my last pre-university Olympiad. Now it’s time for everyone to find out about the part behind this medal, about all the work that the Mexican Mathematical Olympiad does.
Guerrero Reyes dedicated his award to those who have accompanied and supported him on his Olympic path, “to my family, my friends, my girlfriend, my coaches and those who have told me to keep going, who are proud of me. These are words that have really encouraged me.”
“I tell children who are starting out in the math olympics that dreams are something worth pursuing. Since I was very young, I had the goal of winning an international gold medal, but being from Aguascalientes, it seemed very unlikely because my state has not stood out much at the national level in the field of mathematics. So, at first, that impulse to want to stand out seemed unrealistic.
▲ In the image, the young man from Aguascalientes poses with the gold metal.Photo OMM
But we must not let those pessimistic thoughts stop us; we must follow the ideas that tell us that we can move forward and be the first to do something that no one has done before. We must break the mold. We are here to achieve things that do not have to be very big, but simply to change individually, we must always fight for what makes us grow and be happy, and we must never leave our friends. The path is better accompanied than alone, so enjoy mathematics!
In the 65th International Mathematical Olympiad, 609 math athletes from 108 countries competed, Not only to fight for honor, but also to contribute to an international community beyond borders, religions and politics.
explained the IMO organizers.
The Mexican team was accompanied by professors Luis Eduardo García Hernández (leader), Ignacio Barradas Bribiesca (tutor), and Enrique Treviño López (observer), who were in charge of reviewing the contestants’ exams, as well as the discussion with the jury to ratify the scores of the national team.
The IMO gold medalists from Mexico in history are Pablo Soberón Bravo (2006), Diego Alonso Roque Montoya (2012), Juan Carlos Ortiz Rothon (2015) and Tomás Francisco Cantú Rodríguez (2020). Rogelio Guerrero Reyes joins this historic list with his gold medals in 2023 and 2024.
The selection and preparation of all the young people who have participated in the main international competitions in this discipline for four decades is the responsibility of the Mexican Mathematical Olympiad (OMM), an academic program of the Mexican Mathematical Society in which professors and researchers from the main public institutions and universities throughout the country participate altruistically.
The biggest challenge facing WMO today It is the permanent search for financial support that guarantees each of our activities (state, national and international). The financial uncertainty that we constantly face is exacerbated by the lack of financial support from the federal government and Conahcyt during 2023 and 2024. It is the solidarity and support of some institutions, companies and the general public that has made it possible for this program not to be interrupted and for us to continue giving opportunities to thousands of students.
said Guadalupe Russell Noriega, president of the organizing committee of this educational initiative.