China Sweeps All Six Golds at IMO 2026｜Only Team With a Full Sweep, Three Perfect Scores
TL;DR
China sweeps IMO 2026 in Shanghai with all six students winning gold at 232 points — the only team with a full sweep, three perfect 42s.
The 67th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO 2026) closed in Shanghai on July 20. All six Chinese team members won gold, with a total of 232 points, ranking first in the team standings and being the only team with a full gold sweep this year.
Score detail — Deng Leyan, Liu Che, and Zhang Bolun each scored a perfect 42; Peng Zhenqian, Peng Yuxuan, and Yang Chen all won gold below perfect. Three perfect scores is rare in IMO history — the last time China had multiple perfects was 2018.
Team standings — China 232 first, US 207 second, Russia 196 third, Singapore 169 fourth. China's 25-point lead over the US is near-decisive at IMO scale (gold threshold typically around 30 points).
Scale — over 120 countries and regions sent teenagers. Total medals: 55 gold, 105 silver, 189 bronze. Roughly 1:2:3.4 gold:silver:bronze — a hard bar for top performers.
History — China has long dominated IMO. Five straight team wins from 2015-2019, some rivals off-form in 2020 during COVID, a 1-point US upset over China in 2022 triggered domestic reflection on math education. This year China takes the team title back on home turf.
Context worth adding — China's math-olympiad exemption path to top universities was fully tightened after 2020. IMO gold no longer auto-admits to Tsinghua or Peking University. But Qiu Chengtong's Math Talent Class, math youth classes still absorb top prospects. Both Deng Leyan and Liu Che won gold at the Chinese Mathematical Olympiad (CMO) earlier — top talent outside the exemption path.
Next year — IMO 2027 will be hosted by Hungary in Budapest.
via Chinese Mathematical Society / IMO 2026
Score detail — Deng Leyan, Liu Che, and Zhang Bolun each scored a perfect 42; Peng Zhenqian, Peng Yuxuan, and Yang Chen all won gold below perfect. Three perfect scores is rare in IMO history — the last time China had multiple perfects was 2018.
Team standings — China 232 first, US 207 second, Russia 196 third, Singapore 169 fourth. China's 25-point lead over the US is near-decisive at IMO scale (gold threshold typically around 30 points).
Scale — over 120 countries and regions sent teenagers. Total medals: 55 gold, 105 silver, 189 bronze. Roughly 1:2:3.4 gold:silver:bronze — a hard bar for top performers.
History — China has long dominated IMO. Five straight team wins from 2015-2019, some rivals off-form in 2020 during COVID, a 1-point US upset over China in 2022 triggered domestic reflection on math education. This year China takes the team title back on home turf.
Context worth adding — China's math-olympiad exemption path to top universities was fully tightened after 2020. IMO gold no longer auto-admits to Tsinghua or Peking University. But Qiu Chengtong's Math Talent Class, math youth classes still absorb top prospects. Both Deng Leyan and Liu Che won gold at the Chinese Mathematical Olympiad (CMO) earlier — top talent outside the exemption path.
Next year — IMO 2027 will be hosted by Hungary in Budapest.
via Chinese Mathematical Society / IMO 2026