Việt Nam’s student delegations to the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO 2026) and the 37th International Biology Olympiad (IBO 2026) both gave outstanding performances, securing four gold medals and four silver medals in total
The results were declared by the Authority of Quality Management under the Ministry of Education and Training on Sunday.
At the IChO 2026, Việt Nam’s four-member national team achieved excellent results, with each member winning a gold medal.
Việt Nam tied for first place with China and India for number of gold medals.
Among the four Vietnamese gold medallists, three are 12th grade students from the Hà Nội-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted in Hà Nội, namely Nguyễn Mạnh Tuấn, Nguyễn Thế Minh and Trần Hoàng Nam. The fourth is Đinh Xuân Phúc, a 12th grade student at the Vĩnh Phúc High School for the Gifted in Phú Thọ Province.
These results further confirm Việt Nam’s standing among the top-performing countries at the IChO and extend its impressive recent record.
Between 2020 and 2026, Việt Nam’s team won 25 gold medals and three silver medals out of 28 students sent to the competition – one of the country’s most notable achievements at the chemistry olympiad.
IChO 2026 was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from July 10 to 19, with 368 outstanding secondary school students from 93 countries and territories participating.
Participants competed in two components, theory and practical, each lasting five hours. They demonstrated comprehensive subject knowledge, scientific reasoning, analytical and problem‑solving ability, and precise experimental chemistry skills.
The examination content at IChO 2026 was developed with a modern orientation, linked to advanced fields of chemistry and materials science, such as ammonia production and nuclear chemistry.
Tests assessed not only mastery of chemical knowledge, but also chemical cognition and the ability to apply knowledge to explain natural phenomena, production processes and technical issues.
Candidates were required to analyse and process information, construct scientific arguments and investigate and solve problems from a chemical perspective, reflecting their full range of reasoning skills and capacity to apply knowledge in practice.
Việt Nam’s national team at IBO 2026 comprised four students, with all four awarded silver medals.
Three of the Vietnamese students ranked among the top seven silver medallists. The team’s total score remained within the top eight participating delegations.
IBO 2026 silver medallists from Việt Nam are: Thân Đức Chính, 12th grader at the Bắc Giang High School for the Gifted in Bắc Ninh Province; Nguyễn Thành An, 12th grade student at the High School for the Gifted in Science, Việt Nam National University-Hà Nội; Nguyễn Lương Thái Duy, 12th grader at the Hà Nội-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted in Hà Nội; and Phùng Quang Hưng, 12th grade student at the Bắc Giang High School for the Gifted in Bắc Ninh Province.
This year’s biology olympiad took place in Vilnius, Lithuania from July 12 to 19, with 86 delegations from 86 countries and territories (including six observer delegations) and nearly 300 candidates.
IBO 2026 comprised two main exam days: one theory day featuring two papers of 180 minutes each, and four laboratory stations of 90 minutes each.
The two theory papers contained 100 questions on topics of global practical relevance, from environmental pollution, green growth, carbon neutrality and climate change mitigation to public health, diagnostics and solutions for certain intractable human diseases.
All four practical stations covered biochemistry and molecular biology; human and animal physiology; anatomy and animal systematics; and plant bioinformatics.
The IBO is widely regarded as the leading comprehensive international competition in secondary school natural sciences, demanding integrated knowledge across applied mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and environmental science along with essential laboratory skills spanning molecular, organismal and ecosystem levels.
Việt Nam’s team achievements at both IChO 2026 and IBO 2026 testify to the quality of the education sector’s talent identification, selection and training of students with high abilities.
These results also help implement the Party’s policies on developing education, training, science, technology and innovation under the Politburo’s Resolution 71‑NQ/TW and Resolution 57‑NQ/TW, while providing momentum to continue developing skilled workers in chemistry and other science and technology fields.
