James Lin ’18: Sixth in the world at international math competition

Lin’s Team USA places fourth; Qi Qi ’17 lands bronze on the Canadian team

By
Nicole Pellaton
July 26, 2017
James Lin

James Lin at the 2017 IMO.

James Lin and Team USA finished fourth at the 2017 International Mathematical Olympiad held recently in Rio de Janeiro, coming in on the heels of powerhouses Republic of Korea, China and Vietnam.

Lin earned an individual gold medal with a team-best, sixth-place score among more than 600 competitors from 110 countries.

Qi Qi, representing her native Canada, landed an individual bronze medal. Her team came in 29th overall.

Lin and Qi are no strangers to math excellence.

Earlier this year, Lin was one of three Exonians to gain a perfect individual score and a perfect team score at the American Mathematics Competition 12. He went on to place in the top twelve scorers for the 2017 USA Mathematical Olympiad. This was Lin’s first IMO.

Qi and the U.S. team took first at the European Girls Math Olympiad held in April of this year, competing against 43 teams. She won a silver medal at the 2016 IMO.

Math Instructor Zuming Feng, mentor to Exeter math students since 1995 and U.S. IMO team coach for many years, estimates that the 2017 contest, which he helped score, was “likely the most challenging test paper in the history of the IMO.” He adds, “Our students’ successes complete another great year for Math Club!”

James Lin (third from right) and members of the 2017 U.S. team: Ankan Bhattacharya, Zachary Chroman, Andrew Gu, Vincent Huang and Junyao Peng. Photo by Mathematical Association of America.