Year 12 Student Kseniia S Wins Two Medals at International Informatics Olympiads

This summer, I received three awards at three international Olympiads: a silver medal at the Western European Olympiad, a silver medal at the European Girls’ Olympiad, and an honourable mention at the International Olympiad in Informatics.

Olympiads in informatics are competitions which are, at their core, intense 5-hour-long exams with problems testing logic, algorithmic thinking, and coding skills. The International Olympiad in Informatics is the most prestigious event, bringing together 350+ high-schoolers from over 80 countries.

With this writing, I want to share my experiences at the Olympiads, show how programming shapes my world, and hopefully spark an interest in pursuing an Olympic career.

I will start with a story.

Seven people are jumping hectically, their hands linked to form a circle. Ah, the Swiss guys, I think. What looked like a chaotic dance turned out to be a well-thought-out strategy: synchronised jumps and a steady count create a sense of unity, easing the growing tension before a competition. Their energy is infectious.

And that is how I found myself in awe — with passion uniting people — at the Western European Olympiad in Informatics, hosted in Volterra, Italy. The competition brought together the eight best programmers from each of the 10 countries. As appropriate for challenge-seeking minds, we filled our free time at WEOI debating problems: the efficient solutions, best approach, and nifty tricks.  At these competitions, we all share the same intensity and intellectual curiosity for programming. More and more, though, I started thinking about how this passion for programming is shaping my life. Ingrained in my identity by five years of programming, these values are what I apply in learning and school work, too.

At the European Girls’ Olympiad in Informatics, which took place in Bonn, Germany, you were bound to meet many people – especially over the span of a week. With 60 countries participating, the event community is very multinational: our team had dinner with girls from Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Türkiye, and Denmark — discussing our school systems, hobbies, and university goals. One girl from Romania gave me a “Mărțișor” – a traditional red-and-white thread bracelet serving as an amulet for prosperity and luck. That small bracelet, rooted in centuries of Romanian tradition, became symbolic of something that shines brighter than medals – human connection and shared culture. It’s phenomenal that people across the globe are ready to share, connect and learn with others, made possible with events like EGOI.

I spent the rest of July at 2800m above the sea level in Sucre, Bolivia, at the International Olympiad in Informatics, the most prestigious informatics competition for high schoolers under the age of 21. Every year, countries select the 4 best competitors through rigorous national selections, and send their delegations to compete at the host country – this year it was Bolivia. This explained the demanding travel our team had (four connecting flights and 40+hours to get there), and the physical toll on the body (some had altitude sickness, and it was hard to breathe). I guess that’s the price of getting somewhere as rewarding as Sucre: a picturesque city home to dazzlingly white houses, a vibrant culture, and deep history. We visited “La Glorieta” – the only castle in Bolivia, and “Cal Orck’o” – a fossil bed with dinosaur footprints dating back to 68 million years ago. We arrived right before the 200-year anniversary of independence, and witnessed more parades than we can count, each with lively music and spirited dancing. The joyful culture comes from people who are open, kind, and welcoming. Everyone — from student volunteers to the people serving food — tried their hardest to share with us the love for their home country. We felt like a part of everyone’s family.

IOI is, just as its prestigious title might suggest, incredibly challenging. Firstly, there is a mental toll of internal expectations to utilise years of training and push your best on a single exam. Secondly, there is a physical challenge of thinking for hours at a time, unless you train your endurance. Which is why my schedule during GCSE exams (proudly named “The Action Plan”) was a hectic balance of two worlds: 6-7 hours of revision six days a week, combined with two 3-hour programming lessons, and a 5-hour mock contest on Sunday. I wouldn’t choose to do it differently; the results justify the intensity. In fact, I feel like the resilience nurtured by years of programming training – cycles of intense work followed by recovery breaks – helped find the strength to plough through loads of work in the face of an ultimate exam goal.

Still, this year I didn’t manage to win a medal. I received an Honourable Mention for being in the bronze range on the first day (out of the two days). I know that one competition doesn’t predetermine your future success. A river doesn’t stop when it meets a rock; it keeps flowing to its mouth with strength and determination.

This eventful summer I had was a dream of my 11-year-old self, who, picking up the keyboard and writing my first lines in C++, was committed to tough, but equally rewarding and exciting, work (of solving 2900 solved problems). I was the youngest on all British teams. I didn’t feel that at all – we felt equal in our pursuit. It’s just that my teammates were discussing their A-level papers, while I was patiently waiting for my GCSE results. Discovering an area you love at a young age is a privilege. With enough effort, you can become an expert by high school, and with enough curiosity, you can use the skills – analytical thinking, endurance, tough work – to discover and make progress in other areas.

Through this long, eventful journey, I’ve seen how much commitment matters for growing. I want to contribute the same intensity and energy to our school community. Some of the opportunities I am excited about, which our school facilitates, are supporting educational initiatives, collaborating with peers on projects, and sharing knowledge. I have hope that with the help of similarly eager students and supportive members of staff, we can continue nurturing our community.

Students, this message is for you. I really encourage you to reach out to me (via school email) for any school, programming, or maths support. I am very happy to connect with more people in our school, and especially help with anything within my abilities.