At sweet sixteen, Ziyi Xiao is the only international to represent Denmark at the International Mathematical Olympiad

When Ziyi Xiao moved to Denmark from China in 2019 at the age of 10, he could hardly foresee that only six years hence, he would be making history, both for Denmark and CIS. His journey to becoming the school’s first (and youngest) student and Denmark’s only international to make the Danish IMO team is one of passion, resilience, and sheer grit—and one that is deserving of pride and praise.

Photo: Pelle Christensen

Ziyi Xiao is all smiles shortly after being told he’d qualified for the International Mathematical Olympiad in Australia

Tina Jimmy Dastur

May 26, 2025

This year, the 66th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) will run from July 10th until July 20th on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. The annual competition, which dates back to 1959, is widely regarded as the golden standard for mathematics. As is tradition, over 100 countries will send six of their most talented maths minds—all under […]

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