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Kraków high schooler becomes first female to win Poland's Math Olympiad

07.04.2025 12:55
Magdalena Pudełko from Kraków has made history by becoming the first female winner of Poland's National Mathematics Olympiad, a competition for high school students that has been held for 76 years.
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Pixabay LicenseImage by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Pudełko, a senior-year student at the August Witkowski V High School in Kraków, southern Poland, made history as the first female contestant to earn the highest scores in both the final and earlier rounds of the competition.

With a passion for mathematics that dates back to her childhood, Pudełko attributes her achievement to her inherent talent and the guidance of her parents, both of whom are professional mathematicians.

Although Mateusz Wawrzyniak, her peer from the Academic High School of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology in southwestern Poland, also shared the title of winner, he did not achieve a perfect score in the second stage of the Olympiad, unlike Pudełko.

Uśmiech wart miliony! Ależ to jest piękna informacja. Magdalena Pudełko, uczennica V Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Augusta...

Opublikowany przez Maciej Kawecki Sobota, 5 kwietnia 2025

The organizers of the final ceremony, held on Saturda in the eastern city of Białystok, said that this was a groundbreaking moment for Poland's math community, as it marked the first time in the history of the National Mathematics Olympiad that a girl had won the top prize.

Magdalena Pudełko from Krakow, southern Poland, and Mateusz Wawrzyniak from Wrocław, southwestern Poland, both won Poland's National Mathematics Olympiad. However, Pudełko made history as the first girl in the 76-year history of the competition to score higher at every stage. Photo: Podlaskie.eu
Magdalena Pudełko from Kraków, southern Poland, and Mateusz Wawrzyniak from the southwestern city of Wrocław, were both named winners of Poland's National Mathematics Olympiad. However, Pudełko became the first girl in the competition's 76-year history to score higher than any male contestant at each stage, organizers said. Photo: Kamil Timoszuk/podlaskie.eu

In June, Pudełko and Wawrzyniak will attend a training camp in preparation for the international stage of the Mathematics Olympiad, which will take place in Australia in July.

This will be Wawrzyniak’s second time representing Poland at the international level. Last year, he attended a training camp in China and won a silver medal at the international final in the United Kingdom.

This year, 1,883 students from across Poland participated in the National Mathematics Olympiad, with 183 qualifying for the final stage. Of these, 58 participants earned the title of laureates.

(mp/gs)

Source: podlaskie.eu/facebook.com/kawecki.maciej/x/@Wojtek_44