Israel

can continue to take pride in its young students:

The Israeli team to the International Mathematical Olympiad in Colombia, which concluded Saturday, returned home with six medals – one gold, three silver and two bronze.

According to the rules of the Olympiad, whose participants included 600 students from 103 countries, the highest scoring level grants a student a gold medal. Omri Solan, an 11th grader from the Rishonim High School in Herzliya, accomplished this mission.

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Solan recorded another excellent personal achievement when he was ranked fifth among all contestants who won a gold medal.

Israel's silver medals were won by Amotz Oppenheim of Ramat Gan, Tom Kalvari of Ramat Hasharon and Nitzan Tur of Haifa. The bronze medals were won by Yoav Krauz of Holon and Ofer Grossman, an Israeli citizen who moved to the United States recently.

The Israeli team ranked in the 13th place overall out of 103 delegations, a huge improvement compared to the 2010 Olympiad (in which it came in 53rd), 2011 (23rd) and 2012 (31st). The top five spots were captured by delegations from China, South Korea, the US, Russia and North Korea.

As part of the competition, students were required to participate in two days of 4.5-hour exams, which included three theoretical questions each.

"We are very happy," said Moshe Kalvari, Tom's father. "Tom was also a member of the informatics delegation, where he also won a silver medal, so it's a double joy for us. It's the result of hard work and we are very proud of him."

'These students are key for our existence here'

The mathematical competition is part of the International Science Olympiads, which also includes physics, chemistry and informatics competitions. This year, for the first time, all 19 members of the Israeli delegations won a medal: In addition to the six medals in mathematics, the Israeli students won five medals in physics, four in chemistry and four in informatics.

Dr. Ofer Rimon, head of the Education Ministry's Science and Technology Administration, told Ynet: "After three years of hard and focused work, we are starting to see real results, which are expressed in the fact that Israel is becoming a dominant component of the highest global echelon.

"We have yet to fulfill our students' full potential, and we must continue investing the required efforts and resources," he added.

Education Minister Shai Piron congratulated the students as well, defining their achievements as "national pride."

"The students who are members of the Olympic science delegations are one of the keys for our existence here," he said. "I see their win as a matter of great national importance."