MAKKAH: A group of Saudi students has returned home to a heroes’ welcome after winning six medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Norway. Officials of the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, or “Mawhiba,” welcomed the winning team with flowers and took souvenir photos after their arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The Saudi team won two silver and four bronze medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad, which ended on July 16. Their performance lifted the Kingdom’s ranking to 22nd among 104 participating countries and 10th among the G20 countries taking part. Mawhiba Secretary-General Amal Al-Hazaa told Arab News that the team’s success follows extensive support from the Kingdom’s leadership and highlights recent gains achieved by the education sector. Success in the Olympiad is the result of the joint work between the Ministry of Education and Mawhiba, as well as training provided by Mawhiba to its students and affiliates over the past 10 years through their enrolment in experimental and continuing education programs. Most of the students competing in the International Olympiad had completed lengthy training and qualification programs in various fields, she said. After Mawhiba assumed responsibility for the international Olympics and external competitions, results had improved from two medals 10 years ago to more than 500 prizes, Al-Hazaa said. Bronze medallist Muath Al-Ghamdi told Arab News that his “winning journey” began about six years ago when he was in sixth grade. “Since then, I have passed several qualifying tests and qualifications in various competitions. The batch started with around 70,000 students, and only six were chosen to represent the Kingdom. Then the chosen students underwent training at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology,” he said. Al-Ghamdi said that he completed about 6,000 training hours and represented the Kingdom in 10 international competitions during this period. “The Olympiad program enhances the student’s understanding of the importance of learning and research, and encourages him to think and analyze everything,” he added. Student Mohammed Al-Dubaisi said that he is proud of the Kingdom’s achievements at the Olympiad. Al-Hazaa was in sixth grade when his school nominated him for the Olympiad. “After that I qualified for the first, second and third basic courses,” he said. “I did the same thing in the first year of intermediate grade after the school nominated me. Then I qualified for several subsequent forums. After that, I continued the journey until I reached the intensive training program held at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Then, after four years of training, I took the candidacy test for the competition and won a bronze medal.” Hadi Al-Eithan, who won a silver medal, said that the intensive training program provided by Mawhiba helped his performance at the Olympiad. “This development would not have been achieved without the support of my parents, Mawhiba, and the Ministry of Education. Hopefully, next year we will achieve the gold medal,” he said. “The competition was good, but difficult, because there were many distinguished students. To enhance our position internationally, students from all over the Kingdom must know about the Mawhoob competition and Mawhiba programs.” Ali Ramadan, who won a bronze medal, said: “In the sixth grade, I participated in the Mawhoob competition, which was organized by Mawhiba, and I was nominated for the basic courses that are held in schools to prepare for the forums that are held in one of the cities of the Kingdom, but my grades in the basic courses were not enough to qualify me for the following level. “My ambition did not stop, and I participated again, but I did not qualify for the basic courses. However, after intensive training at KAUST in 2019, the pandemic started, and the training continued online. I participated in my first competition in the Junior Balkan Mathematical Olympiad and won the silver medal. So far, I have won five international medals in several competitions.”