国际数学奥林匹克是最重要的、影响最大的全球青少年智力竞赛之一, 但在国家层面如何有效组织这项赛事使它助力于数学和科技英才培养的研究非常少. 数学奥林匹克起源于求解数学难题的竞赛, 不少卓越的数学家和科学家都曾是国际数学奥林匹克的优胜者, 他们或多或少从中受益, 数学奥林匹克有助于选拔和培养数学资优学生已经是共识. 中国参与国际数学奥林匹克所取得的优异成绩是世所瞩目的, 中国在国际数学奥林匹克中表现优异的队员后来很多都成为杰出的数学家和科技工作者. 这些成绩有必要得到宣传, 数学奥林匹克的中国经验需要总结和推广. 本文主要对国际数学奥林匹克的历史作了简单梳理, 并基于文献对国际数学奥林匹克的中国实践进行了述评. 中国通过全国高中数学联赛、全国中学生数学冬令营和国际数学奥林匹克国家集训队三级选拔, 选出参加国际数学奥林匹克选手的数学竞赛组织方式, 以校级培训为主阵地的多级培训体系, 以及相关学习资料的积累和出版, 是中国在国际数学奥林匹克中取得卓越成绩的重要保障. 新冠肺炎疫情暴发对国际数学奥林匹克的正常开展产生了影响, 但中国以成功的实践给出了有效的应对措施. 当下中国社会各界对数学奥林匹克仍存在一些误解, 适当地介绍一些参与过国际数学奥林匹克竞赛并因此在以后的工作中取得卓越贡献的代表性人物, 有助于大众更全面地认识数学奥林匹克. 同时, 国际数学奥林匹克的中国经验对于其他国家组织数学竞赛培训以及选拔和培养数学资优学生具有借鉴价值.

The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is one of the most important and influential global youth intellectual competitions. However, there is little research on how to effectively organize the competition at the national level to help cultivate talent in mathematics, science, and technology. The Mathematical Olympiad originated from a competition to solve mathematical problems. Many outstanding mathematicians and scientists have been prior winners of the IMO and have reaped benefits subsequently to some extent. The Mathematical Olympiad helps to select and train gifted students in mathematics. China’s outstanding historical achievements in the IMO have attracted the attention of the world. Many of China’s students, who exhibited exceptional performance at the IMO, later became outstanding mathematicians, scientists, and technologists. These achievements need to be publicized, and the Chinese experience at the Mathematical Olympiad needs to be summarized and promoted. This article summarizes the history of the IMO and reviews the practices of the IMO in China based on the literature. China uses a number of strategies to ensure outstanding results in the IMO, including: the selection of contestants from existing domestic programs (National High School Mathematics Joint Competition, Chinese Mathematical Olympiad, and National Training Team); a multi-level educational system based on school training; and the accumulation and publication of relevant learning materials. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has affected the normal proceedings of the IMO, but China has implemented effective countermeasures. There are still some misunderstandings about the Mathematical Olympiad in China. By introducing prior contestants, who have participated in the IMO and made outstanding contributions, China can help the public better appreciate the Mathematical Olympiad. At the same time, the Chinese experience at the IMO is an important reference for other countries in organizing competition training and selecting and nurturing gifted students in mathematics.