Chinese teen with cerebral palsy stuns world with back-to-back Math Olympiad golds

Xu Qiming, an 11th grader from Wuhan, scored 36 out of 42 points at this year's competition, held in Australia from July 10 to 20. He placed 12th among 630 contestants from around 110 countries and regions. All six members of China's team won gold, helping the country top the leaderboard with 231 points, the South China Morning Post reported.

Xu's appearance on stage at the opening ceremony sparked cheers and applause as he struggled to walk, visibly battling the effects of cerebral palsy. Born with the condition due to oxygen deprivation at birth, Xu faces daily challenges with movement and muscle control, but has never let it hold him back from his passion for math, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported.

Xu began competing nationally after being selected as one of 30 top math students in China. He made the final six-person team for the second year in a row, having won gold in 2023 with 35 points and placing fifth globally.

This year's Olympiad featured six advanced problems in algebra, combinatorics, geometry and number theory. Xu earned perfect scores on the first five problems. On the notoriously difficult final problem, he scored one point.

To earn gold, students needed a minimum of 35 points. Contestants had two days to solve three problems each day, with 4.5 hours per session. Each question was worth up to seven points. Sixty-seven students worldwide met the gold threshold this year.

First held in 1959, the IMO is the world's premier math competition for high schoolers. China has dominated since joining in 1985, winning gold 191 times and finishing first 25 times.

The 2026 IMO will be hosted in Shanghai.