site.btaBulgarian Team Brings Gold, Silver and Bronze from International Biology Olympiad in Coventry

Bulgarian Team Brings Gold, Silver and Bronze from International Biology Olympiad in Coventry

Sofia, August 1 (BTA) - Bulgaria's biology team participating in the International Biology Olympiad in Coventry, Great Britain, has brought home a set of gold, silver and bronze medals from the event. This is the greatest success so far in the history of a Bulgarian team at a biology Olympiad, the Association of Olympic Teams in Natural Sciences said.

The 28th International Biology Olympiad was held between July 28 and 30, featuring 241 competitors from 68 countries. This year Bulgaria was represented by Dimiter Karazapryanov (gold), Gabriela Hristova (silver), Maria Karaboeva (bronze) and Vanya Milanova. All except Hristova, who is about to graduate from the Sofia School of Mathematics, are students of the National High School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.

The results of the team have come after a year of work under their instructors, Assoc. Prof. Albena Yordanova of the Sofia University Medical Faculty, Assoc. Prof. Snezhanka Andonova of Sofia University's Faculty of Biology and Radoslav Alexandrov, a doctoral student in molecular biology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The International Biology Olympiad (IBO) is a science olympiad for high school students under the age of 20. The first academic international Olympiads after the (originally Eastern European-based) International Mathematical Olympiad were launched under the auspices of the United Nations in the 1960s. The programs have gradually expanded to include more than 70 participating countries across five continents. The IBO is one of these olympiads. All participating countries send the four winners of their National Biology Olympiad to the IBO, usually accompanied by two adults who are members of the international jury for the duration of the competition. Bulgaria is one of the six founding states in 1989.