My Journey to the 2026 International Mathematical Olympiad

Written by: Gao Yuxiang Lucas (4i1, 2026)

The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the oldest, largest and most prestigious international mathematics competition for high school students. For years, I had dreamed of participating in it. Yet, even after all my years of training, I never truly expected that I would eventually make the Singapore team.

From a young age, it was clear that mathematics was going to be my cup of tea. I showed an early interest in working with numbers, which gradually developed into a passion for Math Olympiad. I began attending mathematics enrichment lessons in the later years of primary school and participated in various Math Olympiad competitions. Eventually, this passion led me to DSA into HCI through Math Olympiad.

But that was only the beginning.

In secondary school, the competition became much more intense and the problems significantly more challenging. I had to put in considerably more effort beyond regular school training and enrichment lessons to develop my problem-solving techniques. With every competition, I had opportunities to measure my progress against my peers and, more importantly, to see myself grow each year in both mathematical ability and problem-solving skills.

There were also many setbacks along the way. At times, I found myself comparing my performance with that of my peers and questioning whether I was capable enough. There were competitions where I performed below my own expectations, and those experiences were difficult to accept. However, each setback taught me something new. Over time, I learnt how to manage my emotions and regulate myself before important competitions so that I could perform at my best. This skill would eventually prove useful not only in competitions, but in everyday life as well.

In April this year, I participated in my second National Team Selection Test (NTST), a four-day selection contest held across two weekends to determine the six students who would represent Singapore at the IMO. Having performed poorly the previous year, I was determined to approach the selection process differently. In the days leading up to the contest, I made a conscious effort to take care of myself, avoid overtraining and get enough rest.

I performed relatively well in the first two papers. Unexpectedly, this made me more anxious. I realised that I had a genuine chance of achieving a strong result, and I became worried that I might ruin it in the remaining two papers. I also became slightly complacent. Nevertheless, I tried to put these thoughts aside and reminded myself to focus on what I could control: doing my best on each paper.

For the final two papers, I tried to maintain the same composure I had at the start of the selection test. Eventually, things worked out. When the results were released, I found that I had consistently solved two out of the three questions on each of the four papers. To my surprise, I had qualified for the Singapore IMO team.

Yet, making the team was only the beginning of another challenge.

With the prestige and honour associated with representing Singapore, I felt a greater expectation to perform well, which contributed significantly to my stress. Preparing for the IMO also meant another six to seven weeks of intensive training, including the entirety of the June holidays and the first few weeks of Term 3. With such a demanding schedule, I worried that I might eventually burn out.

Thankfully, that did not happen.

Although the training was intense, it was not as overwhelming as I had initially feared. More importantly, I formed meaningful friendships with teammates whom I had barely known before. On rest days, I made a conscious effort to stay away from Math Olympiad altogether. I learnt that taking a break was not a sign that I was falling behind; sometimes, stepping away was exactly what I needed to return refreshed and ready to learn.

Eventually, the competition arrived, and we boarded a flight to Shanghai. Having visited the city before, I felt somewhat more at ease. After receiving encouragement and advice from our teachers and seniors, I also felt more confident and less burdened by the pressure surrounding the competition.

Being part of such a large international competition was both thrilling and overwhelming. Seeing students from countries all over the world gathered in one place reminded me of just how vast the Math Olympiad community was. When the papers finally arrived, however, all I could do was focus on the problems in front of me and give my best effort.

I left the competition with a silver medal.

Although I knew I could have performed better, I had no regrets. The medal was certainly an achievement I was proud of, but to me, it represented much more than a result. It was a testament to the years of effort, setbacks, self-doubt and perseverance that had brought me there. Looking at the medal, I felt proud not only of what I had achieved, but also of the person I had become throughout the process.

While the IMO marked the end of this year’s journey, it certainly did not feel like the end for me. Throughout the entire experience, I became increasingly aware of how much room I still had to improve. Math Olympiad is a marathon, not a sprint. There will always be harder problems to solve and new techniques to learn. For this reason, I continued training even after returning home. Rather than seeing the silver medal as a final destination, I saw it as motivation to keep improving and perhaps one day return with an even stronger performance.

Looking back, I am immensely thankful to everyone who supported me along the way. To my friends and competitors, thank you for challenging me and bringing out the best in me. To my classmates and teachers, thank you for helping me catch up on schoolwork after almost six weeks of absence. And most of all, to my parents, thank you for guiding me throughout this journey and believing in me regardless of the circumstances and difficulties I faced.

The IMO gave me a medal, but the journey gave me something more valuable: the understanding that success is not simply about the result at the end. It is also about learning to handle setbacks, managing pressure, knowing when to rest, and continuing to push forward when the path ahead remains uncertain. For me, the journey to the IMO may have reached one milestone, but the marathon continues.