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Anna Kiesenhofer: Mathematician, amateur cyclist, Olympic champion
Charting the unusual career path of the Tokyo gold medallist
As an amateur rider, Anna Kiesenhofer ’s Olympics victory might have been a surprise, but she was not a rider to be underestimated.
In an extraordinary comeback story, the winner of the road race at the Tokyo Olympics left the sport at the end of 2017 when she found herself out of contract. She came into Tokyo without a pro team and left as Olympic Champion.
The 30-year-old began her cycling career in 2014 after sustaining running injuries that prevented her from continuing her pursuits of triathlon and duathlon. She later joined a Catalan amateur team based near Girona and went on to win the Spanish National Cup overall in 2016.
That same year, Kiesenhofer entered the 2.2 Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche, which she had failed to finish the previous season due to a crash on the third stage. On the third stage of the 2016 edition, which featured a summit finish on Mont Ventoux, Kiesenhofer bridged to a breakaway group which, amongst others, contained the Polish rider Anna Plichta, who would later become her breakaway companion in Tokyo.
Olympics: Shock gold for Anna Kiesenhofer in women's road race Olympics: Van Vleuten celebrates but mistakes silver for gold Deignan frustrated with 'weird agendas' in Olympic road race
After bridging, Keisenhofer then went on to attack the group at the bottom of Ventoux and won the 94.9km stage by 3:53. Kiesenhofer eventually took second overall in the race.
The then-26-year-old signed her first professional contract with Lotto Soudal Ladies for the following season. However, after a series of DNFs, she ended her 2017 campaign in April and did not sign a contract for 2018, eventually taking a year off the bike.
In 2019, Kiesenhofer came back to the sport as an amateur rider, winning the Austrian national road race and time trial championships and placing 20th in the World Championship time trial. She has gone on to replicate her time trial win every year since, including 2021. Despite her results, Kiesenhofer was still without a professional contract going into the Olympics.
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Off the bike, the new Olympic Champion has a PhD in mathematics after studying at the Technical University of Vienna as well as at Cambridge University before completing her doctorate in Catalonia in 2016 alongside her racing career. She currently works at the University of Lausanne, combining research with teaching.
Kiesenhofer’s specialism in time trialling coupled with her mathematics expertise make it all the more fitting that the Austrian won by solo breakaway and after a calculation error from the rest of the peloton.
Before the race, Kiesenhofer had also been using her studies to prepare for the Games: earlier this month, she Tweeted a graph demonstrating her meticulous heat acclimation process in preparation for the temperatures in Tokyo.
Kiesenhofer was the very first rider to attack in the Olympic road race, eventually forming a breakaway alongsize Carl Oberholzer (South Africa), Omer Shapira (Israel), Vera Looser (Namibia), and Anna Plichta (Poland) which went on to reach a gap of 11 minutes. After Looser and Oberholzer were dropped, Kiesenhofer attacked her two remaining breakaway companions and time-trialled her way to the finish for over 40km.
After Shapira and Plichta were caught by the remainder of the peloton the rest of the riders seemed to believe that they were racing amongst themselves for Gold, unaware that Kiesenhofer was still in front.
However, while it might have been a miscalculation from the rest of the peloton that allowed Kiesenhofer to maintain her lead of more than two minutes, her rivals' mistakes should not detract from the Austrian’s efforts and eventual win.
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Tokyo Olympics: Austrian Math PhD Anna Kiesenhofer Shocks Favourites In Olympics Women's Cycling Road Race
Tokyo olympics: austrian mathematician anna kiesenhofer won the gold medal in women's road race cycling on sunday. kiesenhofer holds a doctorate in applied maths..
- Austrian mathematician Anna Kiesenhofer won gold in road race cycling
- Kiesenhofer holds a doctorate in applied maths
- She upset some of the favourites to win the race at Olympics on Sunday
Austrian mathematician Anna Kiesenhofer claimed a shock gold in a women's Olympic road race on Sunday that saw veteran Dutchwoman Annemiek van Vleuten mistakenly think she had won. The 30-year-old national time trial champion Kiesenhofer, who holds a doctorate in applied maths from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia having also studied at Vienna and Cambridge Universities, held her nerve after a long breakaway that the main peloton never managed to reel in.
Van Vleuten made up for a horrific crash at the Rio Games in 2016 with silver, although she admitted to a massive gaffe after thinking she had won when she crossed the line.
Italian Elisa Longo Borghini bagged bronze for the second consecutive Games.
"It's incredible, I couldn't believe it, even when I crossed the line," said Kiesenhofer.
"I planned to attack at kilometre zero and I was happy I could get in front. That is something I could not take for granted because I am not good at riding in the peloton.
"I am happy that I was not too scared and I just went for it. I attacked and with the group we worked more or less together -- it was helpful to have a group. I saw I was the strongest and I knew I had the climb before the long descent.
"I'm pretty good at descending so I got some more time and then it was just like a time trial to the finish."
Van Vleuten acknowledged that her raised-arm finish had been in vain.
"Yes, I thought I had won," she said. "I'm gutted about this, of course.
"At first I felt really stupid, but then the others (her teammates) also did not know who had won."
In a dramatic finale to a long day's ride, the peloton reeled in France's Juliette Labous and with under four kilometres to go, the gap to Kiesenhofer was cut to under three minutes.
First, two-time world champion Anna van der Breggen, who was targeting back-to-back golds after winning in Rio, and then Van Vleuten cut loose at the 2km mark, but it was much too late.
Kiesenhofer shot through the 1km run-in smiling and constantly looking over her shoulder in full knowledge that the gold was hers in a massive upset of the formbook.
Drenched in sweat, she collapsed to the ground after coming through the finish line, screaming in delight, hands on helmet in near-disbelief.
Drama for Van Vleuten
As with the men's road race, tens of thousands of Japanese fans lined the gruelling 137km route between Musashinonomori Park and the Fuji International Speedway that featured 2,692 metres of elevation gain.
There was earlier drama for Van Vleuten, who sustained concussion and a fractured spine in a horrific crash in Rio, after the 38-year-old took a tumble when Denmark's Emma Joergensen veered into her path after falling.
The 2019 world road race champion quickly regathered her senses and moved her way back into the peloton to take up the fight, with the women's race featuring a field of 67 riders compared to 130 in the men's road race won by Ecuador's Richard Carapaz on Saturday.
But Kiesenhofer held a five-minute advantage over Van Vleuten for large parts of the race, pushing the pace on a solo descent off Kagosaka Pass 40km from the finish to drop early breakaway partners, Israel's Omer Shapira and Polish rider Anna Plichta.
And with 24km to go, Van Vleuten was reeled back in by a 14-strong chasing group, stretched out as riders sought to surge.
Hitting speeds of 60km/h (40 miles-per-hour) on the Fuji race track, Labous was first to push out before the Dutch quartet manoeuvred into an attacking position, but they could do nothing about Kiesenhofer's surprise victory in the shadow of Mount Fuji.
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How did Raygun qualify for the Olympics? Is she really the best Australia has to offer?
By Mawunyo Gbogbo
ABC Entertainment
Topic: Olympic Games
Rachael "Raygun" Gunn did not score a single point at the Paris Olympics. ( Getty Images: Elsa )
Since Australian breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn failed to score a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, many have asked how she qualified for the Games.
Fellow breaker and anthropologist Lucas Marie says she won her qualification "fair and square" last year, but African American man Malik Dixon has criticised the Olympic body for letting her in.
What's next?
Breaking will not be an event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games — a decision made before Raygun's performance.
The 2024 Paris Olympics marked breaking's debut as a sport at the global event, with 36-year-old lecturer and breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn representing Australia for the first time.
Having failed to win a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, Raygun quickly became a viral sensation.
The question on many people's minds now is: How did she even qualify?
Lucas Marie is a breaker who has competed, performed, taught and judged breaking competitions over the past 25 years. He's also an anthropologist who recently co-authored an article with Gunn.
He says the answer to that question is simple.
Lucas Marie recently co-authored an article with Raygun. ( Supplied )
"There was an Oceania qualifier in which any B-boy or B-girl from Australia [or] New Zealand could enter, and that was in Sydney in October 2023," he told ABC News.
"And leading up to that, there were a lot of other events in which breakers were competing.
"She won those battles fair and square and won the qualification in Sydney.
"And it wasn't really a surprise to anyone.
"She's been fairly consistent, winning or coming second or third at a lot of breaking events in Australia for the last five to 10 years."
Marie said there was nothing out of the ordinary about Raygun's performance.
"It's not like gymnastics where there's this kind of agreed-upon standard," he said.
"It's always had a rawness to it. It's always had an improvisational kind of quality. And I think looking different and trying different stuff has always been celebrated.
"And I think Raygun, in a way, was just expressing a core kind of hip hop trait in a way a lot of breakers do."
He described her efforts as bold.
"I thought — and this is how I judge a lot of breaking events — I thought, 'Oh, she's making some really interesting choices to mimic Australian animals.' And you can kind of see the choices that she's making in the moment."
Is she the best Australia has to offer?
Team Australia chef de mission Anna Meares insisted after Raygun's performance that she was the best breaker the country had to offer. But is this true?
Lucas Marie has competed, performed, taught and judged breaking competitions for more than 25 years. ( Supplied: momentsby.naz )
"It's sometimes just who's performing better on the day," Marie said.
"And at the qualification event in which she won, and other events in which she's won, she performed better on that day and won the ticket.
"That doesn't mean she's the best. It doesn't really work like that.
"I think she's a great breaker. She won the qualification. She's won other events in the past, and she was a good representative for Australia at that competition."
Asked whether there were B-girls in Perth, regional Victoria or rural Brisbane who might have qualified but could not afford to travel to Sydney for the tryouts, Marie agreed this was possible.
"Of course, there's breakers all over the country that maybe should have been in that event, but they weren't."
Breaking will not carry over to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, a decision made before Raygun's battle.
Marie described this as sad.
"Maybe, based on the ratings, they'll reassess that and maybe allocate some medals to breaking," he said.
"I really hope that's the case, and I hope that for other breakers who want to compete in it as a dance sport."
Marie said that at the end of the day people should remember they were dealing with a human.
"As a friend of Rachael's, there's a human being who's getting a lot of negative attention," he said.
"I think people kind of miss that sometimes and forget the human aspect of all this."
'Toying with the culture'
Malik Dixon is an African American who has been living in Australia for more than a decade and is a Sydney University graduate.
He said Raygun made a total "mockery" out of breaking at the Olympics.
Malik Dixon says too many people feel entitled to African American culture. ( Supplied )
"She was dressed like a member of the cricket team or an Australian PE teacher, and from that point it just seemed like satire," Mr Dixon told ABC News.
"It just looked like somebody who was toying with the culture and didn't know how culturally significant it was being the first time in the Olympics and just how important it was to people who really cherish hip hop and one of the elements of hip hop, which is breakdancing.
"It made me think, was Borat her breakdancing coach?"
Mr Dixon said too many people felt entitled to African American culture.
"The African American space has been one where we've shared our community so much and without any restraints, any barriers, roadblocks, obstacles, any gatekeepers, that essentially what should have been African American cultural capital is just shared, which is cool," he said.
"We like to share, right?
"We shared 400 years of free labour.
"To see Rachael in her attempt to be a part of the culture just be grossly underwhelming made it seem like she didn't take it seriously."
Olympics body criticised for Raygun qualification
Mr Dixon criticised the body that qualified Raygun, saying she devalued breaking with her performance.
"Whatever governing body nominated her as Australia's entrant into the Olympics either did not understand the assignment or didn't really believe in the integrity or significance of breakdancing, because if they did they would just say, rather than disrespect the culture, we're just not ready to send an applicant this year."
He said Raygun was extremely audacious and not self-aware.
"You've got to know your role, know your position, know your limitation," he said.
"And I think that part of privilege is saying that there are no limits to what I can do.
"Part of privilege is having the authority to say that there are no limits and there are no requirements, there are no prerequisites to what I can do."
Raygun's degrees do not hold much water with Mr Dixon.
"Due to consumerism, this Foundational Black American product, which is hip hop, is global," he said.
"And even people who have no connection to any African Americans or any local or regional things that come out in these songs, they have become a part of the whole experience now.
"If I came in and said that I was an authority on Greek music and I was going against the grain of what the mainstream Greek musicians thought, or the school of thought, and I've said that I was the authority, people would check me on that.
"If I had a PhD in sprinting, does that qualify me to go against Noah Lyles? No, it doesn't."
He also doubts Raygun was the best breaker Australia had to offer.
"[There's] got to be somebody out here that's better than that! The kangaroo! The sprinkler! She did the sprinkler out there, man!" he said.
Should everybody just lighten up?
Should we lighten up? Mr Dixon does not believe so.
"Larrikinism is used as a get-out-of-jail-free card and to escape responsibility of how words or actions impact a hurt person," he said.
"But when the majority culture is offended, there's no playing around.
"This is a part of my culture, and I don't think Australians are in a place to tell me how I should feel about breakdancing being mocked on an international stage.
"People who don't have any or limited access to black people or hip hop culture now may see Rachael and her buffoonery as a representation of hip hop and black culture.
"People who were already side-eyeing breakdancing as an Olympic sport, Rachael Gunn has put the nail in that coffin.
"This might be the most viral clip of the whole Olympics. From a comedy standpoint, she's got it, but from an Olympics perspective, its regressive."
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The hidden mathematics of Olympic success—an interview with Amandine Aftalion
Our podcast on science and technology. the mathematician and author explains how maths can optimise performance in sport.
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A t the Olympics , athletes strive for victory, compete for medals and try to smash records. Behind those Olympic champions are teams of scientists who study every aspect of a sport, looking for anything that can provide an edge over an opponent. What’s the best lane in which to run a 400m race? What’s the best angle to throw a shot put? What’s the fastest object in sport? In this episode, we uncover the hidden mathematics behind sporting success.
Alok Jha, The Economist ’s science and technology editor, interviews Amandine Aftalion, a professor of applied mathematics at the French National Centre of Scientific Research in Paris and the author of “Be a Champion: 40 Facts You Didn’t Know About Sports and Science”.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
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A.I.’s Latest Challenge: the Math Olympics
Watch out, nerdy high schoolers, AlphaGeometry is coming for your mathematical lunch.
Credit... Christian Gralingen
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By Siobhan Roberts
Reported from Stanford, Calif.
- Published Jan. 17, 2024 Updated Jan. 22, 2024
For four years, the computer scientist Trieu Trinh has been consumed with something of a meta-math problem: how to build an A.I. model that solves geometry problems from the International Mathematical Olympiad, the annual competition for the world’s most mathematically attuned high-school students.
Last week Dr. Trinh successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on this topic at New York University; this week, he described the result of his labors in the journal Nature. Named AlphaGeometry , the system solves Olympiad geometry problems at nearly the level of a human gold medalist.
While developing the project, Dr. Trinh pitched it to two research scientists at Google, and they brought him on as a resident from 2021 to 2023. AlphaGeometry joins Google DeepMind’s fleet of A.I. systems, which have become known for tackling grand challenges. Perhaps most famously, AlphaZero , a deep-learning algorithm, conquered chess in 2017. Math is a harder problem, as the number of possible paths toward a solution is sometimes infinite; chess is always finite.
“I kept running into dead ends, going down the wrong path,” said Dr. Trinh, the lead author and driving force of the project.
The paper’s co-authors are Dr. Trinh’s doctoral adviser, He He, at New York University; Yuhuai Wu, known as Tony, a co-founder of xAI (formerly at Google) who in 2019 had independently started exploring a similar idea; Thang Luong, the principal investigator, and Quoc Le, both from Google DeepMind.
Dr. Trinh’s perseverance paid off. “We’re not making incremental improvement,” he said. “We’re making a big jump, a big breakthrough in terms of the result.”
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The Science and Math of the Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are here! They bring excitement and inspiration to audiences worldwide.
While the athletic feats and spectacular opening ceremonies are captivating, there’s also a fascinating world of math and science behind the scenes.
Let’s explore how math and science intersect with the Olympics and how you can bring this knowledge to life with hands-on activities for learners!
The Science of Sports Performance
Science plays a pivotal role in every aspect of the Olympics. Here are a few ways it enhances athletic performance:
- Biomechanics : Scientists use biomechanics to learn how our bodies move and how to improve sports safety. It involves looking at movements, forces, and energy during sports to help athletes get better and avoid injuries.
- Physics : Principles of physics, such as gravity, force, and momentum, are at play in all sports. Understanding these concepts helps athletes and coaches develop better techniques for many types of performances.
- Nutrition and Physiology : Proper eating and understanding the body’s responses to exercise are crucial for peak performance. Science helps design diet plans and training regimens that enhance endurance, strength, and recovery.
Math in the summer Olympics
Math is integral to the Olympics, from scoring and timing to analyzing performance data. Here are some examples where math is used:
- Scoring Systems: Many sports rely on precise scoring systems. For instance, diving uses math equations to calculate scores based on difficulty and execution. Explore more below with our math problem, Nadhiya’s Olympic Dive!
- Statistics: Athletes and coaches use statistical analysis to track performance metrics, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions about training and strategies.
- Geometry: Understanding angles and trajectories is essential in sports like archery, shooting, and even soccer, where the optimal angle of a kick can determine a goal.
Math and science are important in sports, helping athletes and coaches improve performance and strategy. While older athletes might dive deeper into these advanced ideas, it’s never too early to spark curiosity in science and math!
Just like athletes and sport scientists use STEM to excel in sports, kids of all ages can explore STEM concepts through hands-on activities at home.
Activities for Preschoolers
For our youngest learners, easy and hands-on activities can introduce basic science and math ideas. Here are some fun options:
- Counting and Measuring: Use toy athletes or action figures to set up mini sports events. Help learners count jumps, measure distances, and compare results.
- Javelin Throw Engineering: Gather paper towel rolls, paper, foil, and tape for learners. Have them follow the engineering process in a team to create a javelin. After hands-on construction, have them take turns throwing their javelin and measuring the distance.
- Olympic Dough Medals: Mix 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of plain flour, and 3/4 cup of water to make dough, then roll it out. Cut out medal shapes with a cup, push a hole with a straw, and make imprints with wooden numbers. Then bake on low heat (100°C/210°F) for 2 hours, turning once.
Activities for Elementary School Students
- Math Relays: Set up a relay race where each leg involves solving a math problem. This combines physical activity with mental challenges, making learning fun and dynamic.
- Reaction Time : Our reflexes help us stay safe and alert. Measure your reaction time with this simple activity.
- Make a Model Lung: What does it look like when our lungs bring air in and out of our body? Let’s find out in this model lung activity!
Activities for Middle School Students
Older students can engage with more complicated math and science concepts. Here are a few project ideas:
- Math Battles: Use math to solve for the winning number in this puzzling card game for any number of players.
- Rolling with It: What is the mathematical difference between rolling two six-sided dice and flipping six two sided coins? Learn how to calculate the probabilities of different random events.
- Engineering Challenges: Task students with designing their own playground sports equipment. They can apply principles of physics and geometry to create efficient and effective designs.
Bringing the summer Olympics to Pacific Science Center
Whether you visit us in person or explore our online resources, there’s always something new to discover.
One exhibit that perfectly aligns with the Olympic spirit is BodyWorks , an ongoing exhibit included in general admission.
BodyWorks is all about understanding how your body works. You can see how much energy you produce on the Calorie Bicycles and explore various interactive displays that demonstrate the principles of physiology and biomechanics. This exhibit is a fantastic way to connect the physical feats of Olympic athletes with the science behind human performance.
Want to learn more about STEM careers? Watch our career corner videos!
Want to find more free activities? Visit our Curiosity at Home resources!
Join us in celebrating the science and math behind the Olympics and ignite a passion for curiosity and discovery in your learners.
For more information and resources, visit our website and stay tuned for exciting programs and activities that bring the Olympic spirit to life!
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About the Author
Emily Jeung is a passionate marketing and communications professional based in Seattle, working at Pacific Science Center. Specializing in engaging content creation and strategic outreach, Emily is dedicated to enhancing the center’s mission of delivering impactful science education and fostering community connections. When she isn’t working, she enjoys exploring the outdoors, crafting, and cooking.
You can reach out to Emily at [email protected] for insights and collaboration opportunities.
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Cringy moves and a white b-girl’s durag prompt questions about Olympic breaking’s authenticity
Australia’s Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
Australia’s Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Lithuania’s Dominika Banevic, known as B-Girl Nicka, competes during the B-Girls quarterfinals at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
American artist Snoop Dogg stands on stage prior to the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
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PARIS (AP) — From the Australian b-girl with the meme-worthy “kangaroo” dance move to the silver-medal winning Lithuanian in a durag, breaking’s Olympic debut had a few moments that raised questions from viewers about whether the essence of the hip-hop art form was captured at the Paris Games.
Rachael Gunn, or “b-girl Raygun,” a 36-year-old professor from Sydney, Australia, quickly achieved internet fame, but not necessarily for Olympic-level skill. Competing against some b-girls half her age, she was swept out of the round-robin stage without earning a single point, and her unconventional moves landed flat while failing to match the skill level of her foes.
At one point, Gunn raised one leg while standing and leaned back with her arms bent toward her ears. At another, while laying on her side, she reached for her toes, flipped over and did it again in a move dubbed “the kangaroo.”
B-Girl Raygun competes during the Round Robin Battle on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Gunn has a Ph.D. in cultural studies, and her LinkedIn page notes she is “interested in the cultural politics of breaking.”
“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best — their power moves,” said Gunn. “What I bring is creativity.”
Clips of her routine have gone viral on TikTok and elsewhere, and many cringed at her moves platformed on the Olympic stage as a representation of hip-hop and breaking culture.
“It’s almost like they are mocking the genre,” wrote one user on X.
Some of it was ‘weird to see’
Many Black viewers, in particular, called out Lithuania’s silver medalist b-girl Nicka, (legally named Dominika Banevič) for donning a durag during each of her battles. Durags, once worn by enslaved Africans to tie up their hair for work, are still worn by Black people to protect and style their hair. They became a fashionable symbol of Black pride in the 1960s and 1970s and, in the 1990s and early 2000s, also became a popular element of hip-hop style. But when worn by those who aren’t Black, durags can be seen as cultural appropriation. Banevič is white.
Lithuania’s Dominika Banevic, known as B-Girl Nicka, competes during the B-Girls quarterfinals. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
2024 Paris Olympics:
- What to know about the closing ceremony : A skydiving Tom Cruise and performances from Billie Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Paris Olympics mainstay Snoop Dogg highlighted the French capital’s au revoir to the Olympics.
- Indelible images : AP photographers pick their favorite images from the Paris Olympics .
- Who won the 2024 Olympics?: See which countries tied for the most gold medals in Paris, and who exceeded expectations.
- When are the next Summer Games? The Olympics will always have Paris . But next up for the Summer Games: Los Angeles 2028 . See how the City of Angels is preparing to follow the City of Light.
Actor Kevin Fredericks responded on Instagram to Banevič donning the headwear by saying it looked “weird to see somebody who don’t need it for protective style or waves to be rocking the durag.”
The 17-year-old breaker ultimately won the silver medal after losing in the final to Japan’s b-girl Ami (Ami Yuasa).
For her part, Banevič has credited the breakers from the 1970s in the Bronx — the OGs — or “original gangsters” in hip-hop who created the dance — for her own success and breaking style.
“It’s a huge responsibility to represent and raise the bar every time for breaking because they did an amazing job. Big respect for the OGs and the pioneers that invented all those moves. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible,” she said. “Without them, breaking wouldn’t be where it is today. So I’m grateful for them.”
Concerns over losing breaking’s roots
Friday night’s slips “may have alienated too many new viewers to garner the anticipated response from our Olympic premiere,” said Zack Slusser, vice president of Breaking for Gold USA and USA Dance, in a text message to the Associated Press.
“We need to change the narrative from yesterday’s first impression of breaking as Olympic sport. There were significant organizational and governance shortcomings that could have been easily reconciled but, unfortunately, negatively impacted Breaking’s first touching point to a new global audience.”
The challenge for Olympic organizers was to bring breaking and hip-hop culture to a mass audience, including many viewers who were skeptical about the dance form’s addition to the Olympic roster. Others feared the subculture being co-opted by officials, commercialized and put through a rigid judging structure, when the spirit of breaking has been rooted in local communities, centered around street battles, cyphers and block parties. Hip-hop was born as a youth culture within Black and brown communities in the Bronx as a way to escape strife and socio-economic struggles and make a statement of empowerment at a time when they were labeled as lost, lawless kids by New York politicians.
Refugee breaker Manizha Talash, or “b-girl Talash,” channeled that rebellious vibe by donning a “Free Afghan Women” cape during her pre-qualifier battle — a defiant and personal statement for a 21-year-old who fled her native Afghanistan to escape Taliban rule. Talash was quickly disqualified for violating the Olympics’ ban on political statements on the field of play.
Refugee Team’s Manizha Talash, known as Talash wears a cape which reads “free Afghan women.” (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
Both American b-girls were eliminated in Friday’s round-robin phase, a blow to the country representing the birthplace of hip-hop in what could be the discipline’s only Games appearance. B-girl Logistx (legal name Logan Edra) and b-girl Sunny (Sunny Choi) both ranked in the top 12 internationally but came up short of the quarterfinals.
“Breaking for the Olympics has changed the way that some people are dancing,” said Choi, referring to some of the flashier moves and jam-packed routines. “Breaking changes over time. And maybe I’m just old-school and I don’t want to change. ... I think a lot of people in our community were a little bit afraid of that happening.”
The b-boys take the stage on Saturday to give Olympic breaking another chance at representing the culture.
Associated Press Race & Ethnicity Editor Aaron Morrison contributed to this report from New York.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
Mathematical Association of America
Usa earns first place at 65th international mathematical olympiad.
Washington, DC—The United States team, sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America’s American Mathematics Competitions (MAA AMC), has secured First Place in the 65th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), held from July 11 to 22, 2024, in Bath, United Kingdom. The six high school team members also received medals for their outstanding individual performances.
The IMO is the world’s premier high school mathematics competition, attracting the best young mathematicians from around the globe. This year, 108 countries and 609 students competed. The US team scored 192 points, earning them first place. Individual scores are based on solutions to six challenging problems. Notably, US team members Alexander Wang and Jessica Wan placed in the top five individual rankings (third and fifth places, respectively).
The 2024 USA IMO Team members are: - Jordan Lefkowitz, 17 (Connecticut) - Krishna Pothapragada, 18 (Illinois) - Jessica Wan, 18 (Florida) - Alexander Wang, 16 (New Jersey) - Qiao (Tiger) Zhang, 16 (California) - Linus Tang, 18 (California)
Team USA (left to right) -- Carl Schildkraut (Deputy Leader), Andrew Gu (Observer), Jordan Lefkowitz, Linus Tang, Krishna Pothapragada, Jessica Wan, Tiger Zhang, Alexander Wang, John Berman (Leader)
Jessica Wan's inclusion marks a significant milestone. She is the first young woman to join the USA IMO team since 2007. Learn more about this year's team in their interview on the MAA AMC’s “The Curious Cube” podcast .
The US team is expertly guided by coach John Berman and deputy coach Carl Schildkraut after completing intensive training at the MAA Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program, designed and run by former USA IMO leader Po-Shen Loh.
Students qualify for the USA IMO team through a series of competitions organized by the MAA AMC. A special thanks to Jane Street for supporting this year’s team!
Each year, approximately 300,000 K-12 students from over 6,000 schools and learning centers worldwide participate in these competitions. Participants from the MAA AMC program are also featured on other countries' IMO teams, including Canada and Pakistan.
For more information on MAA AMC, including how to host a competition, participate, and other ways to get involved, please visit maa.org/amc .
The Mathematical Association of America is the world’s largest community of mathematicians, students, and enthusiasts. We accelerate the understanding of our world through mathematics because mathematics drives society and shapes our lives.
A breaking hero emerges: Meet Australia's Raygun
An australian professor had some breaking moves, and people had thoughts., by nbc staff • published august 9, 2024 • updated on august 9, 2024 at 3:19 pm.
As Dr. Rachel Gunn, she's a 36-year-old lecturer at Macquarie University in Australia . She holds a PhD in cultural science. She researches and lectures on the cultural politics of breaking .
As Raygun, she's an Olympian breaker, competing for Australia.
Raygun lost all three of her matches, against B-Girls named Nicka, Syssy and Logistx. Yes, that sentence is accurate.
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But Raygun had some moves. And people had some thoughts.
What my nephew does after telling all of us to “watch this” pic.twitter.com/366LjIRl4j — Liz Charboneau (@lizchar) August 9, 2024
There has not been an Olympic performance this dominant since Usain Bolt’s 100m sprint at Beijing in 2008. Honestly, the moment Raygun broke out her Kangaroo move this competition was over! Give her the #breakdancing gold 🥇 pic.twitter.com/6q8qAft1BX — Trapper Haskins (@TrapperHaskins) August 9, 2024
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All I can think about when I see this is the hip hop dance teacher from Bob’s Burgers but if instead she was from Australia and was a 36 year old woman named Raygun https://t.co/nUwYVLnrms pic.twitter.com/Wl5FResHw7 — Shereef Sakr (@ShereefKeef) August 9, 2024
Paris 2024 Summer Olympics
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when Raygun hit the kangaroo jawn I couldn't see the screen I was crying so hard pic.twitter.com/jcICfTu11d — Bradford Pearson (@BradfordPearson) August 9, 2024
I think I found the source of inspiration for the Raygun breakdance at the Olympics. https://t.co/t94Iyu1dPZ pic.twitter.com/a7DL9etwRz — Noodson (@noodson) August 9, 2024
Raygun was like pic.twitter.com/KvXVPVGScx — Charles J. Moore (@charles270) August 9, 2024
Raygun did THE SPRINKLER at this breakdance thing, this is the worst thing Australia has ever done. — Luis Paez-Pumar (@lppny) August 9, 2024
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Maths + Sport: exploring the hidden maths behind the Olympics
University's mathematical contribution to the London 2012 education programme
I am proud that partners such as the University of Cambridge's Millennium Mathematics Project are delivering on our vision to use the power of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to boost participation in education. Lord Coe
By what length would Usain Bolt beat you if you raced him in the 200m? Are the long jump or shot put world records more likely to be broken in some Olympic host cities than others? Does the host nation for the Games have an advantage when it comes to winning medals? How does the geometry of the Velodrome contribute to speed?
Children around the country are exploring the answers to these questions by taking part in an inspiring programme highlighting the hidden maths behind the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Maths and Sport: Countdown to the Games programme, which has been awarded the Inspire Mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme, forms part of the education legacy of the London Games.
It has been devised by the University of Cambridge's award-winning Millennium Mathematics Project and features in the Practical Learning strand of Get Set +, the London 2012 education programme.
The free Maths and Sport website hosts a wide range of activities designed to give students in primary and secondary schools the chance to engage with maths in exciting real contexts.
The resources explore how maths plays a part in every aspect of the Games, from the sports themselves to the architecture of the Olympic venues.
For primary school children, activities range from using multiplication and fractions to work out how much performance in the long jump and high jump improves after training, to practical activities using schools’ sports equipment – basketballs, hockey balls, tennis balls - to help learn about the properties of circles and develop mathematical reasoning skills.
Sample activities for secondary students include helping to design a heptathlete’s training schedule, exploring the best ways for coaches and competitors to present sports data through diagrams and graphs, and investigating the mechanics involved in the pole vault.
Older students can work out what the probability is that an athlete who fails a drug test is actually innocent.
Challenges exploring how maths underlies Olympic architecture include designing the tiered seating for a sports stadium and working out the staggered starting positions for the 400m running track, where students put the geometry they learn in the classroom to practical use.
In addition to the classroom activities, the site includes feature articles of general interest about the role of maths in sport. For instance, Professor John Barrow, director of the Millennium Mathematicss Project and himself a former athlete, discusses how the wind can affect timings in races and what athletes can do to counter it.
Other articles look at engineering in Olympic and Paralympic sports equipment, and whether, after Usain Bolt’s amazing 100m performance in Beijing, mathematical models can help predict if there’s an ultimate lowest limit for the 100 metre world record which no human could run fast enough to break.
The resources for Key Stages 1 to 5 include detailed teachers’ notes giving ideas and suggestions for introducing the activities in the classroom.
The online resources are complemented by a Maths and Sport Roadshow, suitable for Key Stages 2, 3 and 4, which is visiting schools all over the UK to run special Maths and Sport events.
The Maths and Sport Roadshow has also recently worked with schools in Ireland and Gibraltar and will run several events in France during March and April in partnership with the British Council.
Professor John Barrow, director of the Millennium Maths Project, said: “The London 2012 Games offer a unique opportunity to harness the excitement about the Olympics to promote a deeper understanding of how maths is at work in the real world.
“The Millennium Mathematics Project is dedicated to inspiring students and teachers: we believe that the role played by maths in sport offers an exciting opportunity to enrich the teaching of mathematics in all schools and shed new light on sporting activity.”
Lord Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, commented: “Maths + Sport: Countdown to the Games will encourage young people to fulfil their potential.
“I am proud that partners such as the University of Cambridge's Millennium Mathematics Project are delivering on our vision to use the power of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to boost participation in education.”
* Maths and Sport: Countdown to the Games is supported by grants from the Nuffield Foundation and the Royal Commission of 1851 and by the award of the Gresham Prize from Gresham College.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence . If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.
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Viral Australian Olympic breakdancer Raygun responds to 'devastating' criticism
Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, known by her competition name Raygun , became a viral sensation during the Paris Olympics as her unusual performance raised eyebrows. While some praised her unique style, her performance attracted online criticism and ridicule, which Gunn described as "devastating."
"I really appreciate the positivity, and I'm glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives. That's what I hoped," Gunn said in a video posted to Instagram on Thursday. "I didn't realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has, frankly, been pretty devastating."
"I went out there, and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all. Truly,” Gunn added.
Gunn is a 36-year-old college professor who wrote her PhD thesis on the intersection of gender and Sydney’s breaking culture. She lost all three of her group-stage breaking battles in Paris, failing to score a single point.
Gunn pleaded for privacy as she faces increased scrutiny for her participation at the Olympics and critics question how she could have been selected for the Australian team.
“I would really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community and the broader street dance community. Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this, so I ask you to please respect their privacy," Gunn said in the video.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rachael Gunn (@raygun_aus)
Gunn’s distinctive moves and low scores led to online speculation that she had manipulated the Olympic selection process. A petition published to change.org to “hold Raygun accountable” demanded an investigation into how she was selected for the Australian Olympic team. The petition, which had garnered over 55,000 signatures, has since been removed.
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) released a statement Thursday in defense of Gunn, condemning the petition as “vexatious, misleading and bullying.”
The statement refuted every detail of the allegations against Gunn, saying she was selected through “a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.”
“It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way. It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory,” AOC CEO Matt Carroll wrote in the statement .
“It’s important that the community understands the facts and that people do not form opinions based on malicious untruths and misinformation,” Carroll added.
Gunn addressed the allegations in her Instagram video, urging viewers to refer to the AOC’s statement on the “misinformation floating around.”
Breaking made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics , but it will not return at the 2028 Los Angeles Games .
U.S. Places First at International Mathematics Competition in U.K.
By Jocelyn Duffy jhduffy(through)andrew.cmu.edu
- Mellon College of Science
- jhduffy(through)andrew.cmu.edu
- 412-268-9982
The U.S. team tied for first place with China at the 60th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), which was held in Bath, United Kingdom, July 11-22. The six U.S. team members, Vincent Huang (a returning member from 2017 and 2018), Luke Robitaille, Colin Tang, Edward Wan, Brandon Wang and Daniel Zhu also won gold medals for their individual high scores in the Olympiad, known as the world championship mathematics competition for high school students.
The U.S. team is coached by Carnegie Mellon University Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences Po-Shen Loh . Under Loh’s leadership, the team also placed first at the IMO in 2015, 2016 and 2018.
Each year, the six members of the team make their final preparations for the IMO at Carnegie Mellon’s Pittsburgh campus at the Mathematical Association of America ’s Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (MAA’s MOP), where they train with some of the world’s best high school math students.
"These high school students become more and more impressive each year, often already coming with knowledge that I myself only encountered in graduate school. It is an honor to have the opportunity to serve as a guide as they learn how to turn their skills into impact," Loh said.
Approximately 80 students are invited to MOP on the basis of their exceptional performance on national and international Math Olympiad competitions, and top-finishing countries are invited to send two of their top students. Funded by the Benter Foundation, the Allegheny Foundation, CMU’s President’s Office and the Hillman Foundation through the Henry L. Hillman President's Chair, and CMU’s Department of Mathematical Sciences, the addition of international students gives MOP participants the chance for a multi-cultural experience similar to what the IMO team encounters at the competition.
This year, Carnegie Mellon had a few additional connections to the competition. One of the six problems on the IMO was authored by recent mathematical sciences graduate David Altizio, who will begin his Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign this fall.
Additionally, two members of international IMO teams will begin their studies at Carnegie Mellon this fall in the Department of Mathematical Sciences . Howard Halim, a member of the Canadian IMO team, will start his undergraduate degree and Ting-Wei Chao, one of the assistant coaches for Taiwan's IMO team, will begin his Ph.D.
“The Mathematical Association of America is proud to congratulate the students who competed in the International Mathematical Olympiad for the United States of America on their first-place finish in the challenging math competition,” said Michael Pearson, executive director of the Mathematical Association of America. “We are proud to organize the U.S. IMO team through the MAA American Mathematics Competitions that strengthen the nation’s mathematical problem-solvers. In this competition and their future endeavors, these students will help achieve our vision of a society that values the power and beauty of mathematics and fully realizes its potential to promote human flourishing.”
The United States of America will host the 62nd International Mathematical Olympiad in 2021 in Washington, D.C., and it will be organized by the Mathematical Association of America.
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Myths about Olympiads - Part 2
A few months ago (actually, apparently it was over a year ago - time flies) I made a post pointing out several of the bizarre false beliefs about Math Olympiads that seem to be mysteriously widespread among the "higher math" community. These include, but are not limited to, variants of commonly heard statements such as "competition math has nothing to do with higher math", "solving Olympiad problems and doing math research have no relation whatsoever", "doing well at math competitions has nothing to do with creativity and is all about memorizing a bunch of meaningless tricks", "math competitions are just like spelling bees", and the belief that Olympiad students don't deal with proofs. (In case you are new to this conversation: yes, as absurd as it may seem, I swear that I didn't make any of these up.)
When I made that previous post, however annoyed I felt, I didn't regard this as a terribly serious problem. The instinct to dispel lies just out of principle is a natural one, even if one does not see that those lies pose an immediate threat of some sort. I suppose I was mostly curious to understand how an array of false myths had acquired such a strong foothold in the community, in the same way that one tries to understand what leads so many people to believe that the earth is flat, or that the moon landings were fake. At most I feared that this could have a demotivating effect on some students (e.g. a bright Olympiad student who decides not to major in math because someone tells them that undergrad math has nothing to do with what they are used to), leading to some talent going to waste.
And then this morning I saw this blog post .
So the TL;DR seems to be that the myths I took issue with in my previous post are no longer just innocuous nonsense that is parroted over and over. Where 10 years ago we had a group of motivated students engaging and having fun together with challenging problems at Olympiad events, we now have a generation of students who live their lives desperately scrambling to find some graph-theoretical statement that they can artificially slightly generalize so that they can claim to have done "research", because someone told them that Olympiads were not "real math", and "research" is necessary to get into Harvard. (Again, look at the print screens in the blog post. You can see a high-schooler accepting his fate that he cannot major in math because he doesn't have "math research experience". I found this one particularly disturbing.)
I am really skeptical about math research for high-school students. I don't deny that it can very occasionally lead to something interesting (see Daniel Larsen's proof of Bertrand's postulate for Carmichael numbers for an example of meaningful research performed by a 17-year-old), but this is exceedingly rare. It seems to me abundantly clear that, for the vast majority of mathematically gifted teenagers, engaging with Olympiad problems would be a much better way to foster one's mathematical abilities than trying to adapt the argument in some random paper to a slightly more general situation (that was probably not treated in the original paper for the sole purpose of notational simplicity) for the sake of college admissions. As a lecturer/prospective supervisor, I would (as a rule of thumb) prefer a student who took the former path to one who took the latter.
But that won't do, because some angry people came along and claimed very loudly that Olympiad math is not real math - because apparently what makes math "real" is not whether it is interesting or fun, but rather whether it can be labeled as "research". Sigh. I echo the blog post's author's feelings of longing for those long-gone days when smart high school kids - the smart, curious, earnest kids - would just excitedly work on the problems they felt driven to do without worrying about whether they were prestigious enough, or whether they looked nice on one's CV. Way to go...
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Anna Kiesenhofer crossed the finish line to win the women's cycling road race of the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday. ... England and a PhD in applied mathematics from the Polytechnic University of ...
Who Just Shocked Olympic Cycling - WSJ. The Math Ph.D. Who Just Shocked Olympic Cycling. Austria's Anna Kiesenhofer escapes early to fend off a confused Dutch superteam and capture gold. Anna ...
Off the bike, the new Olympic Champion has a PhD in mathematics after studying at the Technical University of Vienna as well as at Cambridge University before completing her doctorate in Catalonia ...
Tokyo Olympics: Austrian mathematician Anna Kiesenhofer won the gold medal in women's road race cycling on Sunday. Kiesenhofer holds a doctorate in applied maths.
July 26, 2021 at 7:19 AM. The Math Ph.D. Who Just Shocked Olympic Cycling. By. Jason Gay. Anna Kiesenhofer of Austria crosses the line to win the gold medal in the women's cycling road race ...
The 2024 Paris Olympics marked breaking's debut as a sport at the global event, with 36-year-old lecturer and breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn representing Australia for the first time.
A t the Olympics, athletes strive for victory, compete for medals and try to smash records. Behind those Olympic champions are teams of scientists who study every aspect of a sport, looking for ...
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Breaking made its debut as an Olympic sport Friday, and among the competitors was Dr. Rachael Gunn, also known as B-girl Raygun, a 36-year-old professor from Sydney, Australia, who stood out in ...
Dr. Trinh had previously asked Evan Chen, a mathematics doctoral student at M.I.T. — and an I.M.O. coach and Olympiad gold medalist — to check some of AlphaGeometry's work.
July 2, 2024. Emily Jeung. The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are here! They bring excitement and inspiration to audiences worldwide. While the athletic feats and spectacular opening ceremonies are captivating, there's also a fascinating world of math and science behind the scenes. Let's explore how math and science intersect with the ...
PARIS (AP) — From the Australian b-girl with the meme-worthy "kangaroo" dance move to the silver-medal winning Lithuanian in a durag, breaking's Olympic debut had a few moments that raised questions from viewers about whether the essence of the hip-hop art form was captured at the Paris Games. Rachael Gunn, or "b-girl Raygun," a 36-year-old professor from Sydney, Australia, quickly ...
2024 Paris Olympics: Follow USA TODAY's coverage of the biggest names and stories of the Games. ... has a PhD in cultural studies and is a college professor at Macquarie University in Sydney.
Washington, DC—The United States team, sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions (MAA AMC), has secured First Place in the 65th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), held from July 11 to 22, 2024, in Bath, United Kingdom. The six high school team members also received medals for their ...
As Dr. Rachel Gunn, she's a 36-year-old lecturer at Macquarie University in Australia. She holds a PhD in cultural science. She researches and lectures on the cultural politics of breaking. As ...
Children around the country are exploring the answers to these questions by taking part in an inspiring programme highlighting the hidden maths behind the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Maths and Sport: Countdown to the Games programme, which has been awarded the Inspire Mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme, forms part ...
When breaker Rachael Gunn - aka Raygun - bombed out of the Paris Olympics, the shockwaves hit a tiny hip-hop scene on the other side of the world. In a Sydney warehouse-turned-community centre ...
2024 Paris Olympics: Follow USA TODAY's coverage of the biggest names and stories of the Games. ... who wrote her PhD thesis on the intersection of gender and Sydney's breaking culture, ...
I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all. Truly," Gunn added. Gunn is a 36-year-old college professor who wrote her PhD thesis on the intersection of gender and Sydney ...
Let the celebrations begin - Team Great Britain have finished Paris 2024 with 65 medals, beating their total from Tokyo by one. The total matches the team's medal haul from London 2012 and is the ...
This contradicts the choice of Γ0. l. Comment 2. Use of an auxiliary graph and reduction to a new problem in terms of this graph is one of the crucial steps in both solutions presented. In fact, graph G from Solution 1 could be obtained from any graph Γ from Solution 2 by merging the vertices of the same color.
Jun 20, 2024. From the 26th of July to the 11th of August 2024, Paris will be hosting the Summer Olympic Games. In 2024 four new events have been added to the program they are: breaking (so interested to watch this!), sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing. Three events have been removed: baseball, softball and karate!
The U.S. team tied for first place with China at the 60th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), which was held in Bath, United Kingdom, July 11-22. The six U.S. team members, Vincent Huang (a returning member from 2017 and 2018), Luke Robitaille, Colin Tang, Edward Wan, Brandon Wang and Daniel Zhu also won gold medals for their individual high scores in the Olympiad, known as the world ...
The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is an annual international high school mathematics competition focused primarily on pre-collegiate mathematics, and is the oldest of the international science olympiads. [1] The awards for exceptional performance include medals for roughly the top half participants, and honorable mentions for participants who solve at least one problem perfectly.
of PhDs in mathematics awarded from 2000 to 2019. Figure 1. SED data reporting the number of PhDs in mathematics awarded annually from 2000 to 2019. Over the last 20 years the number of PhDs awarded in mathematics has nearly doubled, from 1050 in 2000 to over 2000 in 2019. During this period, PhDs in mathematics
The following is the complete list of countries by medal count at the International Mathematical Olympiad: [1] Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Honorable Mention Gold in Last 10 Contests (updated till 2023) 1 China: 180 36 6 2 51 2 United States [2] 141 118 30 1 46 3 Russia: 106 62 12 0 30 4 South Korea: 89 77 28 7 38 5 Hungary: 85
A few months ago (actually, apparently it was over a year ago - time flies) I made a post pointing out several of the bizarre false beliefs about Math Olympiads that seem to be mysteriously widespread among the "higher math" community. These include, but are not limited to, variants of commonly heard statements such as "competition math has nothing to do with higher math", "solving Olympiad ...
International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the World Championship Mathematics Competition for high school students. The first IMO was held in 1959 in Romania and only 7 countries participated that year. ... -Around 22% of IMO participants have a PhD in mathematics; of those, around a third have a PhD in mathematics from a top 10 school (7% of ...
The United States of America Mathematical Olympiad ( USAMO) is a highly selective high school mathematics competition held annually in the United States. Since its debut in 1972, it has served as the final round of the American Mathematics Competitions. In 2010, it split into the USAMO and the United States of America Junior Mathematical ...
website creator . Program of Study. The Department of Mathematics offers a program leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The PhD program is an intensive course of study designed for the full-time student planning a career in research and teaching at the university level or in quantitative research and development in industry or government.