BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Lithuanian students achieved a historic victory at the 21st International Geography Olympiad (iGEO), held from July 26 through August 1 in Thailand's Bangkok, Trend reports.
The national team earned four gold medals and, for the first time in both Lithuania’s and the Olympiad’s history, secured first place overall among nearly 50 participating countries.
The gold medalists are Rojus Kondratavičius and Faustas Kondratavičius from LSMU Gymnasium (teacher: Jovita Vizbarienė), Ugnius Vilimas from Vilnius Lyceum (teacher: Jolita Milaknienė), and Tomas Jakubauskas from Palanga’s Old Gymnasium (teacher: Nerijus Vaišvilas).
The team was coached by geographer Rytas Šalna (President of the Lithuanian Geography Teachers Association), Angelė Pakamorienė (expert teacher at Gargždai's Minija Progymnasium), and Edgaras Zaboras (Geography Olympiad alumnus).
“This has never happened before in either Lithuanian or iGEO history. Our students’ geographic knowledge, skills, and critical thinking surpassed even those of historically top-performing countries,” said team leader Rytas Šalna.
The Lithuanian team outperformed nations such as Singapore, the US, Indonesia, Finland, China, and Poland.