### Individual edit See also: List of International Mathematical Olympiad participants Several individuals have consistently scored highly and/or earned medals on the IMO: Zhuo Qun Song (Canada) is the most highly decorated participant[\[91\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-94) with five gold medals (including one perfect score in 2015) and one bronze medal.[\[92\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-95) Reid Barton (United States) was the first participant to win a gold medal four times (1998–2001).[\[93\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-96) Barton is also one of only eight four-time Putnam Fellows (2001–04). Christian Reiher (Germany), Lisa Sauermann (Germany), Teodor von Burg") \[sr\ \] (Serbia), Nipun Pitimanaaree (Thailand) and Luke Robitaille (United States) are the only other participants to have won four gold medals (2000–03, 2008–11, 2009–12, 2010–13, 2011–14, and 2019–22 respectively); Reiher also received a bronze medal (1999), Sauermann a silver medal (2007), von Burg a silver medal (2008) and a bronze medal (2007), and Pitimanaaree a silver medal (2009).[\[94\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-97) Wolfgang Burmeister (East Germany), Martin Härterich (West Germany), Iurie Boreico (Moldova), and Lim Jeck (Singapore) are the only other participants besides Reiher, Sauermann, von Burg, and Pitimanaaree to win five medals with at least three of them gold.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-more-2) Ciprian Manolescu (Romania) managed to write a perfect paper (42 points) for gold medal more times than anybody else in the history of the competition, doing it all three times he participated in the IMO (1995, 1996, 1997).[\[95\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-98) Manolescu is also a three-time Putnam Fellow (1997, 1998, 2000).[\[96\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-putnam-99) Eugenia Malinnikova (Soviet Union ) is the highest-scoring female contestant in IMO history. She has 3 gold medals in IMO 1989 (41 points), IMO 1990 (42) and IMO 1991 (42), missing only 1 point in 1989 to precede Manolescu's achievement.[\[97\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-100) Terence Tao (Australia) participated in IMO 1986, 1987 and 1988, winning bronze, silver and gold medals respectively. He won a gold medal when he just turned thirteen in IMO 1988, becoming the youngest person[\[98\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-101) to receive a gold medal (Zhuo Qun Song of Canada also won a gold medal at age 13, in 2011, though he was older than Tao). Tao also holds the distinction of being the youngest medalist with his 1986 bronze medal, followed by 2009 bronze medalist Raúl Chávez Sarmiento (Peru), at the age of 10 and 11 respectively.[\[99\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-102) Representing the United States, Noam Elkies won a gold medal with a perfect paper at the age of 14 in 1981. Both Elkies and Tao could have participated in the IMO multiple times following their success, but entered university and therefore became ineligible. Gender gap and the launch of European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad ------------------------------------------------------------------ edit Over the years, since its inception to present, the IMO has attracted far more male contestants than female contestants.[\[100\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-103) [\[101\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-104) [\[102\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-105) During the period 2000–2021, there were only 1,102 female contestants (9.2%) out of a total of 11,950 contestants. The gap is even more significant in terms of IMO gold medallists; from 1959 to 2021, there were 43 female (3.3%) and 1295 male gold medal winners.[\[103\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-106) This gender gap in participation and in performance at the IMO level led to the establishment of the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO).[\[104\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-107)