At the 48th IPhO International Physics Olympiad in Indonesia, all five Russian schoolchildren from the national team won a gold medal. This best result countries for the history of participation in the Olympics. In 2016, the Russian team won four gold medals.
(Total 15 photos)
More than 400 schoolchildren from 88 countries took part in the Olympiad, held in Yogyakarta from July 16 to 24. They had to solve theoretical and experimental problems.
About half of the Olympiad participants receive medals; about 60 people received gold medals in 2017. The overall winner of the Olympiad, who showed the best result, was Akihiro Watanabe from Japan.
Participants Russian team
Dmitry Plotnikov, graduate of Moscow school No. 1329. Until the 10th grade, Dmitry studied at schools No. 1303 and No. 1524.
Stanislav Krymsky, eleventh grader at the Academic Lyceum “Physical and Technical School” in St. Petersburg.
Vasily Yugov, graduate of Perm school No. 146. Photo: social networks.
Kirill Parshukov, graduate of the physics and mathematics boarding school of the Komi Republic.
Right: Sergey Vlasenko, a former student of Voronezh school No. 8 and the Specialized Educational and Scientific Center of Moscow State University.
“Ever since the time of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, Russia has been one of the most active countries participating in the development of physics as a science. We have seen this in the achievements of our scientists, we see this in the results of our young talents.”
Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Olga Vasilyeva
Presentation of the medal to Vasily Yugov.
The leaders of the Russian team are Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Pre-University Training of MIPT Artem Voronov, Associate Professor of the Department of General Physics of MIPT Mikhail Osin and employee of the Laboratory for Work with Gifted Children of MIPT Vitaly Shevchenko. MIPT coaches prepared the children for the Olympiad: Valery Slobodyanin, Alexander Kiselev, Vitaly Shevchenko, Fedor Tsybrov and Alexey Alekseev.
“The guys arrived ten days before the start of the Olympiad, and we solved quite long and complex tasks- to improve their skills and refresh their knowledge. This happened at MIPT, we have special coaches there, also former Olympiad athletes.”
Artem Voronov
The Olympiad participants took a break from intellectual work on excursions around the island of Java, where it was held.
The Russian school mathematics team also showed good results in International Olympiad in mathematics, winning six medals. The Olympics, held in Rio de Janeiro, ended on July 23.
The gold medal was awarded to Mikhail Ivanov (Physics and Mathematics Lyceum No. 239, St. Petersburg), who took 14th place in the individual competition. A few days before the Olympics, Ivanov participated in a direct line with Vladimir Putin, “Non-Childish Conversation,” where the president spoke with talented schoolchildren at the Sirius educational center.
Silver medals were won by Georgy Veprev and Kirill Tyshchuk (Lyceum No. 2, Rybinsk) and Nikita Dobronravov (Lyceum No. 130, Novosibirsk). Bronze medals went to Timofey Zaitsev (school No. 179, Moscow) and Vadim Retinsky (school No. 1329, Moscow). The preparation of the mathematical team was led by Nazar Agakhanov, MIPT associate professor, head of the mathematics department of the Laboratory for Working with Gifted Children. He called this year's Olympics the most difficult in history.
IEPhO(International Experimental Physics Olympiad) is the world's only international Olympiad in experimental physics. This year, 328 children came to Belarus to compete for prizes. Thus, a record was set for the number of IEPhO participants. 19 teams from Moscow took part in the Olympiad, including such well-known educational and research centers as the Secular Science Center of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov (three teams), Novosibirsk Scientific Research Center (2 teams), 4 teams from St. Petersburg, three teams from Mordovia, Samara, Sarov, Kaliningrad, a number of other regions of Russia, as well as Slovakia, Belarus and Armenia. As a result, 40 teams began solving the problems of the first round.
The main goals and objectives of the Olympiad are to identify and develop students’ creative abilities, encourage interest in scientific activities in the field of experimental physics, create conditions for intellectual development, support gifted children, including assisting them in vocational guidance and continuing education, promoting scientific knowledge, formation of a favorable social climate. The conduct of the Olympiad was provided by representatives of the best educational institutions of the country, including the Foundation for Support of Innovative Programs "Education and Science", the Center for Pedagogical Excellence, the National Center for Continuing Natural Science Education and the Sirius Educational Center, created by the Educational Foundation "Talent and Success" on the basis of the Olympic infrastructure on the initiative of the President Russian Federation V.V. Putin (The Foundation was established on December 24, 2014 by outstanding Russian figures of science, sports and art. The center’s activities are carried out with the support and coordination of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Russian Federation) and a team of experienced volunteers.
In 2017, the Olympiad took place from November 24 to December 2. The opening ceremony of the Experimental Physics Olympiad IEPhO-2017 among schoolchildren in grades 8-11 took place on November 24.
The Olympiad was held in three rounds, which consisted only of experimental physical problems. Teams representing regional teams of the Russian Federation, city teams, and teams from Russian educational institutions took part in the Olympiad. Schoolchildren from grades 8 to 11 were allowed to participate in the competition. Based on the results of the Olympiad, both a personal competition, which was separate in each age group, and a team competition (grades 8-9 and grades 10-11) were provided. The winners and prize-winners of the Olympiad in the individual competition were determined by the organizing committee and the jury of the Olympiad on the proposal of the jury separately in each parallel. The winners were awarded first-degree diplomas and gold medals, and the prize-winners were awarded second- and third-degree diplomas, silver and bronze medals. Participants were also awarded certificates of commendation, special and other incentive prizes. The selection of teams was carried out on a competitive basis. At the same time, priority was given to those of them that included winners or prize-winners of the International Olympiad in Experimental Physics for last year, final stage All-Russian Olympiad schoolchildren in physics 2017, as well as teams educational organizations, which are included in the All-Russian ranking of schools in physics and mathematics (TOP-100).
The team of the MBOU "Physics and Mathematics Lyceum" was represented by students of grades 9 and 11 in the amount of 7 people:
- Alexey Zolotarev – 11th grade;
- Melnikov Alexander – 11th grade;
- Vasilyev Arseny – 9th grade;
- Knyazhev Alexey – 9th grade;
- Shevtsov Ivan – 9th grade;
- Zhigalov Daniil – 9th grade;
- Minaev Vladimir – 9th grade.
- The team leader is physics teacher Elena Vasilievna Shatkova.
As a result of a stubborn struggle, Arseny Vasiliev was awarded a bronze medal and a corresponding diploma.
Russian schoolchildren won several gold medals at the completed international Olympiads in physics and mathematics. Thus, at the 48th International Physics Olympiad, held in Indonesia, the Russians won five gold medals for the first time in history. At the Mathematics Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, St. Petersburg resident Mikhail Ivanov won one gold, and the Russian team took 11th place.
- Russian schoolchildren at the 48th International Physics Olympiad in Indonesia
- Press service of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science
Schoolchildren from 88 countries took part in the International Physics Olympiad. The Russian students and their coaches have already been congratulated by the Minister of Education and Science of Russia Olga Vasilyeva.
“Since the time of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, Russia has been one of the most active countries participating in the development of physics as a science. We have seen this in the achievements of our scientists, we also see this in the results of our young talents. I would like to congratulate the Russian team on their outstanding performance at the International Physics Olympiad, from which each participant will bring with them gold medal”, says Olga Vasilyeva’s congratulations, published on the department’s website.
Russian schoolchildren, whose knowledge in physics were awarded gold medals, shared with RT their impressions of last Olympiad. A graduate of Moscow school No. 1329, Dmitry Plotnikov, said that the competition was not without incidents. Thus, the experimental round was postponed by a day, so the participants had to wait several hours.
“While waiting, many slept right on the floor,” admitted Plotnikov.
The graduate also spoke about how the preparation for intellectual competition. According to him, the training sessions at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology helped, where participants “were explained complex topics on in simple language».
Nevertheless, the graduate believes that no matter how nice it is to receive gold, the most important task on at the moment his goal is to get into a good university.
Another winner of a gold medal in physics, a student of a physics and mathematics boarding school from the Komi Republic, Kirill Parshukov, also shared with RT the details of the Olympiad, which consisted of two rounds: theoretical and experimental.
If the theory seemed simple to Kirill, then, according to him, “the experiment turned out to be difficult to complete in the allotted time.” However, no difficulties prevented the student from winning a gold medal.
Parshukov also noted that when presenting the award, he felt “satisfaction from achieving the goal that he had been pursuing for three years.”
The head of the Russian team, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Pre-University Training at MIPT Artyom Voronov told RT that in comparison with the school curriculum, the tasks of international Olympiads are very voluminous - five hours are given to solve three problems.
“The guys arrived ten days before the start of the Olympiad, and we solved quite long and complex problems with them - to improve their skills and refresh their knowledge. This happened at MIPT, we have special coaches there, also former Olympiad athletes,” Voronov noted.
He admitted that the guys are very emotional about the Olympics, but it itself is structured in such a way that everything happens in a positive atmosphere.
“Everyone did a really good job. This is a joint victory, unique for Russia - never in history have there been five gold medals in physics, and we, of course, took a long time to achieve this victory,” Voronov added.
Excelled in Rio
On Saturday, July 22, the International Mathematics Olympiad, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, ended with a ceremony. Russian schoolchildren took 11th place in the team competition.
The best result among Russians was shown by Mikhail Ivanov from St. Petersburg. According to the total points, he was awarded a gold medal and took 14th place in the individual competition. In a conversation with RT, the student said that preparations for the competition took place in Sochi, and also shared his opinion about the Olympics itself in Rio.
The medalist noted that the preparation took place over three weeks at the Sochi educational center "Sirius". Moreover, despite the intensive preparation, the schoolchildren still managed to relax and get to know the city.
“There were several hours of free time left a day, we watched films, played tennis and volleyball, and went on excursions around Sochi,” said Ivanov.
The student did not forget to thank those who helped him on his way to gold.
“The Olympiad was difficult this year, and on the second day I could have written better. But I’m glad that I received a gold medal, this is a huge merit of our leaders - the teachers who accompanied us to the Olympiad and explained to the English-speaking jury members what we wrote in our works,” said Ivanov.
Chemistry of knowledge
Let us remind you that a week ago, Russian schoolchildren also won two golds and two silvers at the International Chemistry Olympiad, held in Thailand. Then representatives from 76 countries took part in the competition, and Moscow schoolboy Alexander Zhigalin became the absolute winner of the Olympiad.
Another gold was won by Ruslan Kotlyarov from Kazan, with whom RT also managed to talk. He admitted that before the international Olympiad there was very intensive preparation, although in fact the tasks turned out to be relatively easy.
“In total, we studied chemistry for almost a month, eight hours a day, seven days a week.<...>The Olympics were, in general, easy and quite doable. There were a lot of tasks, but in general, strong participants could sit for another hour to check the answers,” said Kotlyarov.
He added that despite the concentration on the competition, the guys managed to make many new acquaintances, communicate and get acquainted with the culture of Thailand. Schoolchildren were able to see the beauty of Bangkok and its surroundings, including the ruins of the ancient capital of Siam.
“Since all the equipment was taken away from us - team leaders translate tasks personally, and leaks cannot be allowed - we had a lot of time to communicate. Naturally, we made a bunch of new friends. It was extremely interesting to work with them, and I will miss them,” said Kotlyarov.
The International Physics Olympiad IPHO-2017 has ended in Indonesia. The Russian team won five gold medals - one for each participant.
Is this a good result?
The best in the history of Russian participation (last year there were 4 golds), and in the overall standings this is also a high figure: out of more than 400 participants, only 50 people received gold, silver and bronze medals.
Why is this award important?
Because it clearly demonstrates: our country still holds high bar academic level of training in natural sciences. The day before, a Russian schoolboy became the absolute winner of the International chemical olympiad, the rest of the Russian team won a gold and two bronze medals.
The winners - who are they and what do they do, besides physics?
Meet:
Vasily Yugov ( Perm region) — graduate of Perm school No. 146, multiple winner and winner of the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in physics, mathematics and computer science, absolute winner of the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in physics, gold medalist of the International Physics Olympiad IPhO-2016.
Third generation physicist. Refused to enroll in a Hong Kong university, despite the offer of a $50,000 annual scholarship.
Every day he spends an hour and a half doing intensive walking over rough terrain, because he believes that a real scientist must have good physical fitness. He reads “Harry Potter”, “The Lord of the Rings” and the works of the Strugatsky brothers, his favorite book is “Harry Potter and the Methods of Rational Thinking”.
Dmitry Plotnikov (Moscow)— graduate of Moscow school No. 1329, winner of the 2016 All-Russian Schoolchildren Olympiad in Physics, gold medalist of the 2017 Asian International Physics Olympiad (APhO), winner in the individual competition in physics at the 2017 International Zhautykov Olympiad.
![](https://i0.wp.com/knife.media/wp-content/uploads/plotnikov.jpg)
I gained most of my knowledge through self-education. Exchanged computer games for math classes, free time studies psychology. Since childhood I dreamed of studying particle physics, and now I am going to enter the Faculty of Computer Science at the Higher School of Economics.
Kirill Parshukov (Komi Republic)— graduate of the physics and mathematics boarding school of the Komi Republic, three-time winner of the All-Russian Physics Olympiad for schoolchildren, bronze medalist of the 2017 Asian International Physics Olympiad (APhO). In addition to physics, he studied Olympiad mathematics. He enjoys sports and is interested in economics. Idol - physicist Nikola Tesla. Enters MIPT.
![](https://i0.wp.com/knife.media/wp-content/uploads/parshukov-sert.jpg)
Stanislav Krymsky (St. Petersburg)— 11th grade student at the St. Petersburg Academic Lyceum “Physical and Technical School”, three-time winner of the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in mathematics, two-time winner All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in physics, gold medalist of the Asian International Physics Olympiad (APhO) 2017, gold medalist of the International Science Olympiad for Juniors in 2014 and 2015 and silver medalist in 2016.
He started studying physics when he was 5 years old. His parents, as a joke, bought him a Peryshkin textbook for the 7th grade. The boy read it and asked for the next one.
In his free time, Stas reads Shakespeare's tragedies, scientific articles and performs experiments in chemistry, preparing to fight the imperfections of the world.
Sergey Vlasenko (Voronezh region)— graduate of school No. 8 in Voronezh, three-time winner of the All-Russian Physics Olympiad for schoolchildren, silver medalist of the 2017 Asian International Physics Olympiad (APhO), gold medalist of the 2015 International Natural Science Junior Olympiad.
The vice-rector of MIPT was involved in preparing students Artem Voronov, he himself is a former winner of the International Physics Olympiad, as well as his colleagues - MIPT associate professor Mikhail Osin, employee of the laboratory for working with gifted children Vitaly Shevchenko and a team of trainers - Valery Slobodyanin, Alexander Kiselev, Vitaly Shevchenko, Fedor Tsybrov, Alexey Alekseev.
![](https://i0.wp.com/knife.media/wp-content/uploads/all.jpg)
Why do we need the Olympics at all?
Firstly, they stimulate participants to creative thinking - Olympiad tasks are non-trivial, and one cannot prepare for them by simple cramming.
Secondly, they make it easier for talented schoolchildren to enter science.
Thirdly, they show future young specialists what tasks are currently in demand in practice, what sectors and areas of scientific knowledge are relevant. This helps young men and women move from learning academic theory to creating practical value.
Trend physical olympiads recent years - a story about a certain area of modern physics or a description of a complex natural phenomenon. Consistently solving a problem, the student advances in an unfamiliar area as a discoverer, and having reached the end, he already has an established understanding of this area.
What is the benefit of winning the Olympics for the kids themselves?
IPHO, in particular, is highly regarded in the world. Its results are recognized in almost all physics universities, which provide medalists with benefits upon admission. The medal of the International Olympiad, quite expectedly, gives its owner preferential treatment when entering Russian universities. The irony of the situation is that all members of the Russian team are winners or medalists of the All-Russian Championship (according to the conditions of selection for the first training camp), so they already have the right to enter any physics university without exams.
These benefits, however, are useful for foreigners who want to get an education at a Russian institute. (For example, many international experts from Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan study at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.)
Moreover, many international scientific and industrial centers are looking for future specialists at such Olympiads. Winners and prize-winners of international competitions subsequently receive invitations to prestigious, interesting and highly paid jobs.
What about financial benefits?
Vladimir Putin was the first to take the initiative to reward gifted schoolchildren who took prizes at national and international Olympiads. The presidential decree “On measures to support talented children and youth,” issued in 2016, proposed awarding 5,350 cash prizes per year to schoolchildren and students. In particular, for winning an All-Russian or international Olympiad - 60 thousand rubles (1,250 awards in total), winners of Olympiads - 4,100 awards of 30 thousand rubles each.
However, the program, alas, was not extended for 2017. The only lucky ones are Moscow schoolchildren who receive bonuses from the regional budget.
This problem was raised by participants in Putin’s meeting with schoolchildren. Pupil question educational center Yegor’s “Sirius” sounded like this: “Why are Olympiad winners paid bonuses only if they are from Moscow? Until 2016, everyone was paid.” The President promised to look into the situation.
By the way:
The complexity of international subject olympiads constantly growing. At the very first International Physics Olympiad (1959), they were given problems that today schoolchildren participating in the regional round of the All-Russian Olympiad receive. True, at that time these problems were given for the first time, and no one knew how to solve them.
Today in physics both the complexity of problems and their format have changed. If earlier they were similar to the tasks of Vseros, now they are very long and divided into a number of points. This complication is associated with an increase in the level of participants. After 2000, when Russia last time turned out to be higher than China, Asians began to increase their positions in the natural sciences, and this also influenced the complexity of the Olympiad tasks.