Cuban Students Win Bronze and Honorable Mention at 56th International Chemistry Olympiad

Two Cuban students representing their country at the 56th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO 2024) earned a bronze medal and an honorable mention in the highly competitive event held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 21 to 30.

Héctor Manuel Domínguez Pérez from the Vocational Pre-University Institute of Exact Sciences (IPVCE) Luis Urquiza Jorge in Las Tunas, secured a bronze medal, while Mario Luis Pérez Brito from IPVCE Eusebio Olivera in Sancti Spíritus received an honorable mention. Cuba was one of the 84 countries participating in the IChO 2024, with a total of 327 students competing. The Cuban students were mentored by Dr. Gerardo Manuel Ojeda Carralero from the University of Havana.

The Facebook page of IPVCE Luis Urquiza Jorge congratulated the two young Cuban awardees. "Exceptional result, many congratulations," the post stated, accompanied by a video of Domínguez receiving his bronze medal.

Student's Dedication and Hard Work

From the competition venue, Pérez, who received an honorable mention, gave statements to the provincial newspaper Escambray. He shared that the months leading up to the event involved intense training. "All my free time was spent training to achieve good results in the national and then the international Olympiads," he said.

The competition included both a theoretical and an experimental exam. In the theoretical section, participants had to solve nine highly challenging problems. Pérez mentioned, "Many say that this is the toughest Olympiad in the world."

The young student expressed immense pride in representing Cuba at the Olympiad. "The other delegations are surprised that there are only two of us from Cuba. And yes, we are just two, but we gave our all," he added.

In the previous edition, the 55th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO 2023) held in Switzerland, Cuban students César Endris Acosta Martínez and Erick Jordan Valdés Abreu won bronze medals, placing Cuba back in the competition ranking after six years without medals in this type of event.

The primary goal of the International Chemistry Olympiad is to encourage students to strive for excellence in the field of chemistry. It is a competition for pre-university students and is held annually in different countries.

Additionally, this month, five other Cuban students received honorable mentions for their participation in the 65th International Mathematical Olympiad held in Bath, United Kingdom. In June, eight pre-university students from Cuba won medals in the 15th Ibero-American Informatics Olympiad, conducted online in Peru.