Aussies Headed to Pristina for Maths Olympiad

The Australian 2025 European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) team looks to continue its world beating ways this year in Kosovo, heading to Pristina to compete from 11-17 April 2025.

This is the eighth year Australia will be represented at EGMO, the premier international mathematical problem-solving contest for young women. Two papers will be taken on consecutive days. Participating countries send teams consisting of four female mathematicians of school age.

The Australian EGMO team, comprises Laura Nan in Year 12 at Fintona Girls’ School in Victoria; Amber Li in Year 11 at Pymble Ladies’ College in NSW; Olivia Sun in Year 10 at Lauriston Girls’ School, also in Victoria; and Zihui Zhang in Year 12 at Clayfield College in Queensland.  Laura is competing for her third year in a row, and Amber for her second, with both students achieving Gold Medals in 2024.

Laura Nan, Year 12, Fintona Girls’ School, Vic, who won a Gold medal, IMO 2024 (International Mathematical Olympiad) and a Gold medal at the EGMO 2024 says, “In a world that feels more chaotic and sometimes overwhelming by the day, maths feels like a beacon of stability in my life. Unlike the other sciences, there is very little that new discoveries can do to uproot old ones - we may discover new ways of viewing mathematics, prove new theorems, but 2 will always be a prime in the integers. And when I do learn new perspectives on maths it'll be safely built on top of previous ones, always just off the edge of my comfort zone."

On the competition, Nan thinks, “the most important thing you can do is use these experiences to connect with other people. Even though you sit the paper by yourself, Olympiads are still very much a team event and it’s so important to have a good support network to uplift and learn from each other. When it feels challenging, knowing that someone else believes in you can make all the difference in the world because they will see your strengths when you when you’re overfocusing on everything you can do better.

She lists her interests as chatting with other maths enthusiasts, badminton, listening to music, losing the game, making the smallest origami cranes humanly possible and playing board/card games.

Teammate Olivia Sun, Year 10, Lauriston Girls’ School, Vic who won a Gold medal, at the ASC 2023 and the Peter O’Halloran Award and Cheryl Praeger Award at the Australian Mathematics Competition, 2022 and 2023, says, “I like how there is always an answer, and yet, multiple ways of achieving it. I also love the creative aspects of maths, forming different ideas and then testing them; I love how you can suddenly understand the problem.

“There will always be people willing to support you if you choose to put in the effort down this path. Nobody is the same, and neither are their journeys, so don’t feel intimidated and believe in yourself, even when you feel stuck.”

Team Leader Michelle Chen, herself a former IMO bronze medallist, and Deputy Team Leader Elizabeth Yevdokimov, will travel with the team. Michelle is a software engineer at Google and is involved in the AMT’s high-performance pathway as an experienced lecturer and mentor.

“We have high hopes that this year’s EGMO team will be spurred on by the success of the Australian team in 2024. The 2024 team came second overall, our best ever result in this competition and the best result for any Australian team competing internationally. We are confident our girls will bring home another fantastic result,” said Mike Clapper, Interim CEO of the Australian Maths Trust (AMT).

AMT’s 2025 EGMO initiative is supported by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources through the Inspiring Australia – Science Engagement Programme. It is also supported by the Trust’s National Sponsor of the Australian Informatics and Mathematical Olympiad Programs, Optiver.

Image by Perparim Blakaj