Taiwan won four gold medals, three silvers and one bronze at the 16th International Earth Science Olympiad, placing second among 32 countries, the Ministry of Education said on Saturday.
The only country to beat Taiwan was the US with four gold and four silver medals, the ministry said in a statement.
Eight competitors from Taiwan entered the competition, which was held online between Aug. 20 and Saturday last week, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Education
Four of them — Ho Liang-hung (何亮宏), Chen Yu-lin (陳宥潾) and Yang Chueh-hsi (楊爵禧) from Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School, and Wu Chun-hsien (吳俊賢) from Tainan First Senior High School — won golds, the ministry said.
Chen Yu-hsun (陳宥勳) from Taichung Municipal Taichung First Senior High School, Chen Po-yu (陳柏宇) from Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Senior High School and Yang Yi (楊佾) from National Hualien Senior High School won silver, while Chang Chia-chen (張嘉宸) from the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University won a bronze medal, it said.
Ho, who had the highest score among all competitors, said he likes to challenge himself to do his best, adding that “seeking and exploring my potential and interests is my favorite thing to do.”
Ho not only excels in earth science, but performed well in the International Internet Intelligent Ironman Creativity Contest, the International Biology Olympiad and English debate competitions.
Ho said that he has made a lot of friends while preparing and competing, and has learned how to better face stress.
Meanwhile, Wu said even when he was little, he was fascinated by space and searched for related content, such as information about black holes and neutron stars.
He not only explores the universe through text books, but tries to understand more about space when he spends time outdoors, Wu said.
Taiwan has placed first 11 times in the International Earth Science Olympiad, the ministry said
The eight high-school students representing Taiwan this year were selected from 498 students from 92 schools, it added.
According to ministry regulations, students who win gold, silver and bronze medals at the competition receive NT$200,000, NT$100,000 and NT$50,000 respectively, and can gain admission to the departments of earth science, or other departments at Taiwan’s universities.
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