Forty-two out of forty-two
The EGMO 2023 scoreboard lists Isabella Zhu of the United States with the maximum 42 points and a gold medal. The paper consists of six problems marked out of seven each; a perfect total means six complete proofs with nothing deducted.
Her team-mate Vivian Loh recorded the same score. National teams at EGMO carry four contestants, so half the American team finished the olympiad without losing a mark, a distinction shared in 2023 only with China, whose four contestants all scored 42.
A guest team at a European olympiad
The competition is named for Europe but the scoreboard is not limited to it. Teams from outside the continent appear on the 2023 table, the United States and Australia among them, and contestants from all three of those groups reached the maximum score.
The pattern held into the following year. At EGMO 2024 in Tskaltubo, Georgia, the highest individual score in the world belonged to Hannah Fox of the United States, with 41 points out of 42, ahead of contestants from Australia and Finland on 38.
What the paper asks
EGMO problems are proofs rather than calculations. Marks follow the completeness of an argument, so a contestant who reaches a correct conclusion through an incomplete chain of reasoning is marked down for the missing link, and one who makes real progress on a hard problem is credited for it.
The marking itself is adversarial by design. Examiners and team leaders coordinate over each script, and a perfect score means that six written arguments survived that scrutiny intact. It is the strongest result the scoring system can express.
A crowded summit
Fourteen contestants reached 42 points in 2023, out of a field of roughly two hundred drawn from about fifty countries. Alongside Zhu and Loh were all four Chinese contestants, Fidan Garayeva of Azerbaijan, Maria Drencheva of Bulgaria, Nogah Friedman of Israel, Polina Henyk of Ukraine, Xiangyue Nan of Australia and two Turkish contestants.
Roughly seven per cent of the hall cleared every problem. That is high for an olympiad, and it means the 2023 competition has no single individual winner: the top of the table is a fourteen-way tie in which no further separation exists.
What is documented — and what is not
The firm facts are from the olympiad's own scoreboard: 42 points out of 42 at EGMO 2023 in Portorož, Slovenia, a gold medal, competing for the United States, with Vivian Loh recording the same total for the same team.
There is nothing else in these sources. No age, date of birth, school, state or photograph appears, no interview has been published, and no result before or after 2023 is recorded. The name is a common one, so results attributed to an Isabella Zhu elsewhere should not be assumed to belong to this contestant without confirmation.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isabella Zhu | United States | Perfect 42/42 at EGMO 2023 | — |
| 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
- Perfect score of 42 out of 42 at EGMO 2023 (official scoreboard)
- Competed for the United States; awarded a gold medal
- Team-mate Vivian Loh also scored 42; fourteen perfect scores in total
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- No date of birth, age, school or state in the source
- No photograph, interview or personal detail with the result
- The name is common; other results under it are unconfirmed
Questions people ask about Isabella Zhu
What did Isabella Zhu achieve?
A perfect score of 42 out of 42 at the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad 2023 in Slovenia, with a gold medal, for the United States.
Did another American score 42?
Yes. Vivian Loh recorded the same perfect total on the 2023 scoreboard.
How old is Isabella Zhu?
No source in this record gives her age or date of birth. The scoreboard lists names, countries and scores only.
Why does the United States compete in a European olympiad?
The scoreboard includes teams from outside Europe. The source does not explain the invitation rules.
Is Isabella Zhu on Wikipedia?
No Wikipedia article was found for her, and the name is common, so other people of the same name should not be confused with this contestant.
How many contestants scored 42 in 2023?
Fourteen, out of a field of roughly two hundred from about fifty countries.
Where is Isabella Zhu now?
No source in this record says. The published trail is the 2023 scoreboard entry.
Did she win the olympiad?
The top of the 2023 table is a fourteen-way tie on the maximum score, so there is no single individual winner.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Zhu’s story?
How many US contestants scored a perfect 42 at EGMO 2023?
Where was EGMO 2023 held?
How many problems does the paper contain?
Sources
- EGMO 2023 scoreboard — European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad (official), 2023-04
- EGMO 2024 scoreboard — European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad (official), 2024-04
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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