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.
