International Olympiad in Informatics champion reveals 'a little bit of stress' during the exam

On the afternoon of August 8, representatives of the Department of Education and Training of Gia Lai province went to Phu Cat airport to welcome male student Le Kien Thanh back home after winning a gold medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics .

Gia Lai đón nhà vô địch Olympic Tin học quốc tế - Ảnh 1. — Le Kien Thanh just won the Gold Medal at the 2025 International Olympiad in Informatics

Sharing with reporters at the airport, Thanh said he was very touched by the warm welcome from his family, teachers and friends. He sent his thanks to all those who accompanied and encouraged him throughout his training and competition journey.

Before going to Bolivia, Thanh prepared both knowledge and physical strength, entered the exam with a relaxed mentality and only set the goal of a silver medal. "When I learned that I won the gold medal, I was very emotional. This is a worthy reward for 12 years of hard work and study," Thanh shared.

According to Thanh, the biggest challenge was the time zone difference and the harsh cold of Bolivia, which made him sleepless and tired in the first few days. However, thanks to careful preparation and a strong mentality, he quickly adapted before the exam.

"The exam gathered many strong candidates, especially from China, Korea, Japan... In the exam room, the rapid sound of typing on the keyboard also made me a bit nervous, but I tried to keep the rhythm and concentrate to complete the test well," Thanh said.

The International Olympiad in Informatics is the most prestigious algorithmic programming competition for high school students around the world . This year, the International Olympiad in Informatics 2025 took place from July 27 to August 3 in Bolivia, with the participation of more than 90 countries and territories.

Gia Lai đón nhà vô địch Olympic Tin học quốc tế - Ảnh 2. — Gia Lai province education sector welcomes Le Kien Thanh at the airport

The Vietnamese team had 4 members participating. Of which, Le Kien Thanh (Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, Gia Lai) was the only member of the Vietnamese team to win a gold medal. Two silver medals belonged to Dang Huy Hau (Thang Long High School for the Gifted, Lam Dong) and Nguyen Bui Duc Dung (High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences, Hanoi National University). Ninh Quang Thang (Ha Long High School for the Gifted, Quang Ninh) won a bronze medal.

Previously, Le Kien Thanh also won a silver medal at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Informatics Olympiad (APIO), which took place on May 17-18 in Uzbekistan.

In addition, when he was in grade 10, Thanh won first prize in the provincial-level IT competition (for grade 12) and second prize in the national IT competition in 2023. In the same year, he won the Le Quy Don Online Judge Cup 2023 in Da Nang and won first prize in group C1 of the National Youth IT Competition.

With outstanding achievements, Thanh has been awarded many certificates of merit by the Ministry of Education and Training, Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee, received the Creative Youth badge from the Central Youth Union, and recently was one of the 5 outstanding delegates attending the 8th National Congress of Advanced Youth.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nha-vo-dich-olympic-tin-hoc-quoc-te-bat-mi-ve-chut-cang-thang-trong-ky-thi-185250808171918846.htm