Ukrainian high school student Taras Symak from Kolomyia won a bronze medal at the 22nd International Geography Olympiad (iGeo 2026), which took place August 11–17 in Istanbul.
Taras Symak is a student at the Vasyl Stefanyk Lyceum No. 1 in Kolomyia. He has previously won prizes at several student Olympiads, and in the spring of 2026, he won the regional round of the All-Ukrainian History Olympiad.
This year’s iGeo featured 184 high school students from 50 countries around the world. Each national team could consist of a maximum of four participants, selected based on the results of national Olympiads.
Among the countries whose representatives won awards in Istanbul were Serbia, Belarus, Romania, Mongolia, Turkey, and Iran.
In particular, Serbian high school student Petar Tolimir from Belgrade won a gold medal. The Belarusian participants won gold, silver, and bronze medals. The Romanian team finished the Olympiad with two silver and two bronze medals.
Mongolia achieved a historic result—Amina Ayanbek won the country’s first-ever gold medal at the International Geography Olympiad. Another Mongolian participant received a bronze medal. A representative from the host country, Turkey, took silver, while Iran received bronze.
The International Geography Olympiad is considered the premier international geography competition for high school students aged 16–19 and is held under the auspices of the International Geographical Union.
Unlike traditional subject-based tests, participants are required not only to demonstrate knowledge of geographical facts but also to analyze maps, statistical data, economic and demographic processes, and conduct fieldwork.
The final score is based on three components: 40% from a written exam, 40% from field research, and 20% from a multimedia test using maps, photographs, graphs, and statistics.
The first iGeo took place in 1996 in The Hague with only five countries participating. Over the course of three decades, the Olympiad has become one of the leading international academic competitions for high school students, alongside the Olympiads in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science.
The next, 23rd International Geography Olympiad, is scheduled to take place in 2027 in Jelgava, Latvia.
EDUCATION, GEOGRAPHY, high school student, OLYMPIAD, UKRAINE
Ukrainian high school students won one gold and two silver medals at the 38th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI 2026), which took place August 9–16 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
A total of 375 students from 97 countries participated in the competition. Over the course of two competition days, participants solved complex algorithmic programming problems.
Vladislav Khalin achieved the best result among Ukraine’s representatives. He scored 398.32 points, placed 16th in the overall individual rankings, and received a gold medal.
Ilya Shevchenko, with a score of 336.44 points, placed 58th and received a silver medal. Daria Perekopskaya brought home another silver medal for Ukraine, scoring 333.01 points and placing 62nd.
The fourth member of the Ukrainian team, Daria Lobas, placed 198th with a score of 219.04 points.
First place in the individual rankings of the 2026 IOI went to Qiwen Xu of China, who scored 498.27 points out of a possible 600.
The International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) is one of the most prestigious international subject-based Olympiads for high school students. The competition is held annually and is designed to test skills in algorithmic thinking, programming, and solving complex computational problems. Unlike team sports tournaments, the official IOI results are determined primarily on an individual basis.
According to official IOI statistics, Ukrainian high school students have won 110 medals throughout the history of their participation, including 14 gold, 44 silver, and 52 bronze.
The official results of the 2026 IOI have been published by the International Olympiad in Informatics statistical system.
computer science, EDUCATION, high school student, OLYMPIAD, UKRAINE
Ukrainian high school students won five medals at the European Physics Olympiad (EuPhO 2026), which took place June 12–16 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
According to the official results of the Olympiad, the Ukrainian team won three gold, one silver, and one bronze medal.
The gold medals were won by Sviatoslav Lavreniuk, Nazarii Vrashchuk, and Mykyta Voznyi. Lavreniuk scored 36.90 points and took second place in the overall individual standings of the Olympiad. Vraschuk, with a score of 30.10 points, took tenth place, while Voznyi, with 29.60 points, took eleventh.
Oleg Kurnitsky received a silver medal, scoring 17.20 points and placing 50th. Mykhailo Rubtsov won a bronze medal with a score of 12.50 points and a 101st-place finish in the overall standings.
The overall winner of EuPhO 2026 was Bryant Yu of the United States, who scored 38.60 points. Third place in the overall standings went to Haoyi Li of China with a score of 34.60 points.
A total of 199 students from 41 countries participated in the competition. At the conclusion of the Olympiad, 23 gold, 37 silver, and 51 bronze medals were awarded, along with 34 honorable mentions.
The official team rankings were not published in the final results of EuPhO 2026. However, China led all countries in the number of gold medals, with its representatives winning five gold medals.
The European Physics Olympiad is held for high school students. Each country may send a team of up to five participants. In 2026, the Olympiad took place in Gothenburg with the participation of Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg.
