One point in six problems
The International Mathematical Olympiad sets six problems worth seven points each, three on each of two days, so 42 is the ceiling. Prokudina's marks, as published by the organisers, are seven on five problems and six on the third. A single point of partial credit went missing across two four-and-a-half-hour papers, and it was not lost on the question that usually decides the ranking.
That detail is worth stating plainly, because problem three is conventionally one of the two hardest on the paper. Of the rows quoted on this page, most of the points that disappeared at the top of the 2026 table went on problems three and six. Prokudina gave up six sevenths of a mark on one of them and nothing at all on the other.
Eighth of 666
The official table records 666 contestants at the 2026 olympiad, each of them the survivor of a national selection process that in most countries runs through several rounds. Seven of those 666 finished on a perfect 42: Leyan Deng, Che Liu and Bolun Zhang of China, Hyeonjun Lee of the Republic of Korea, Alex Chui of the United Kingdom, and Liam Reddy and Alexander Wang of the United States.
Prokudina's 41 sits immediately below that group. Ranks one to seven were the perfect papers; rank eight was hers, alone. In a competition where a handful of contestants can share a place, an unshared eighth is a narrow result, and it means no other paper in Shanghai scored between 41 and the maximum.
What the organisers publish
The IMO results table is unusually good evidence, because the body that ran the competition publishes it: a name, a country, six problem scores, a total, a rank and a medal, marked by coordinators who see every script. Nothing in it depends on a reporter having been in the hall, and nothing in it is a claim made on a contestant's behalf.
It is also the entire published record here. The table lists Prokudina under Russia and stops. There is no age, no date of birth, no school, no photograph, no city and no interview attached to the row, and no other outlet in this record has written about her.
What is documented — and what is not
Firm: the score of 41, the per-problem breakdown, the rank of eighth, the gold medal, the year and the host city. Those come from the organisers and can be repeated without qualification.
Open: the research record compiled for this page describes Prokudina as the highest-placed female contestant at the 2026 olympiad. The official results table does not publish the gender of contestants, so that claim cannot be checked against the source used here, and it is set out as a claim rather than a fact. Her birth year, school and what she has done since the competition are absent from every source gathered.
How rare an IMO gold is
Medals at the olympiad are distributed by proportion rather than by a fixed score: gold goes to roughly the top twelfth of the field, which is why a gold medal on its own says less than a place does. In 2026 that band ran from the perfect papers down through scores far below Prokudina's, and lumping them together loses the distinction that matters.
Eighth in the world, one mark off the maximum, is a different object from a gold medal at the cut-off. It is also the kind of result that leaves almost no trace outside the table: the olympiad publishes the outcome and nothing else, and unless a national federation or a newspaper writes about a contestant, the row is all that survives.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arina Prokudina | Russia | Seven contestants wrote perfect papers in Shanghai. She wrote the best of | — |
| Junghun Ju | South Korea | A perfect score at the International Mathematical Olympiad | — |
| Amber Li | Australia | Three consecutive EGMO gold medals | — |
| Aida Mitroi | Romania | Three consecutive EGMO gold medals | — |
| Alisa Volkova | Russia | She solved five of the six problems outright and finished twelfth in the w | — |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- 41 points of 42 at IMO 2026 in Shanghai, eighth place, gold medal (official IMO results)
- Per-problem scores of 7, 7, 6, 7, 7, 7
- Competed in a field of 666, in which seven contestants scored a perfect 42
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- The claim that she was the top female finisher is not verifiable from the official table, which does not publish gender
- No age, birth year, school or city appears in these sources
- No record of what she has done since the 2026 olympiad
Questions people ask about Arina Prokudina
What did Arina Prokudina achieve?
A gold medal at the 2026 International Mathematical Olympiad in Shanghai, with 41 points out of 42 and eighth place among 666 contestants.
What was her score on each problem?
Seven out of seven on problems one, two, four, five and six, and six out of seven on problem three.
How old is Arina Prokudina?
No source in this record gives her age or birth year. The IMO results table publishes names, countries, scores, ranks and medals only.
Who won the 2026 IMO?
Seven contestants finished on a perfect 42: Leyan Deng, Che Liu and Bolun Zhang of China, Hyeonjun Lee of the Republic of Korea, Alex Chui of the United Kingdom, and Liam Reddy and Alexander Wang of the United States.
Was she the highest-placed girl at the olympiad?
The record compiled for this page says so, but the official results table does not publish contestants' gender, so the claim cannot be confirmed from the source used here.
How many people competed?
666 contestants, according to the official results for 2026.
Is Arina Prokudina on Wikipedia?
No Wikipedia article was found for her. The source used here is the official IMO results table.
Where is Arina Prokudina now?
No source in this record says. The documented trail is a single row in the 2026 results.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Prokudina’s story?
How many points did Arina Prokudina score at IMO 2026?
Where was the 2026 olympiad held?
How many contestants wrote perfect papers in 2026?
Sources
- IMO 2026 individual results — International Mathematical Olympiad, 2026
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
Discover More Child Prodigies
50+ stories of contemporary young geniuses changing chess, music, science, and art.
Explore All Prodigies →Related Child Prodigy Profiles
Junghun Ju🇰🇷 South Korea — He scored 40 out of 42 and finished third in the world…
Hyeonjun Lee🇰🇷 South Korea — He won gold with 36 points in 2025 — then went to Shanghai…
Amber Li🇦🇺 Australia — She won gold at the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad…
Aida Mitroi🇷🇴 Romania — Three golds in three years, and a rank that improved every…
Laura Nan🇦🇺 Australia — Six problems, seven points each…
Alisa Volkova🇷🇺 Russia — She solved five of the six problems outright and finished…
