At 13, Sophia Dias Fernandes Excels in National Math Olympiad, Taking Her First Flight and Preparing for Advanced Challenges

The medal earned a workbook, a teacher’s guidance, and two trips, the first of which was also the first time she boarded an airplane.

The test that changed the routine of Sophia Dias Fernandes was taken while sitting at a common desk in the school she attends every day. Sophia is 13 years old, lives in Americana, in the interior of São Paulo, and attends the state system at the Escola Estadual Professora Idalina Grandin Mirandola, located in the Vila Bertini neighborhood, according to a report from the newspaper Todo Dia.

From that desk came a national gold medal at the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools, or OBMEP, and from the medal stemmed everything that followed: an advanced course, two trips, and her first flight ever. The national awards ceremony took place in June of this year, per the same publication.

The Scale of the Olympiad She Entered

The 2025 edition of the OBMEP, which Sophia has won, was the largest ever recorded. According to IMPA, the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics, which organizes the competition, the test had 18,617,336 students registered in the first phase.

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How Many Actually Reach the Gold

The number of registrants is not the number of competitors vying for the medal because the Olympiad has multiple phases, and only a portion of students advances. The funnel narrows at the end: according to the Ministry of Education, 682 students from all regions of the country were awarded gold medals in that edition.

The newspaper Todo Dia reported that the national ceremony, held in Rio de Janeiro, gathered 684 gold medalists, two more than the Ministry of Education reported. The official winners list published by OBMEP is the document that finalizes this count, name by name.

The Medal That Opens a Door for the Whole City

A national medal at a public school rarely stops with the student. It becomes a topic in class, on bulletin boards, and within families, similar to the case of a 13-year-old student from the municipal network in Santa Catarina who turned her bronze medal ceremony into a celebration for the entire school, reported at the end of August.

In Americana, the edition produced two gold medals, three silver, and five bronze, according to a regional survey published by Todo Dia. Sophia is one of the two gold medalists from the city.

The Trip That Came with the Medal

The prize wasn’t just the metal hanging around her neck. Thanks to her achievement, Sophia won a trip to Florianópolis in May, to participate in the Hilbert Hotel Meeting, an event hosted by IMPA that gathered 155 students selected by the Junior Scientific Initiation Program, known as PIC, according to the report from Todo Dia.

Following this was the national OBMEP ceremony in Rio de Janeiro in June. Two trips in two months, for a girl who had never boarded an airplane before.

The First Flight

This is the detail she chose to share when talking about her achievement. “When I found out I had won the gold medal, I was very anxious for the national ceremony. It was amazing to fly for the first time and meet students from all over Brazil. I made many friends and had a unique experience,” Sophia told Todo Dia.

The sentence summarizes what a school olympiad does beyond the test. The plane wasn’t mentioned in the announcement, but it emerged as a direct consequence of a result achieved within the school itself.

Traveling Alone Since Age 11

Sophia started traveling alone at 11 when she was first awarded, and since then she has participated in other ceremonies and meetings organized by the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools (OBMEP), according to Todo Dia. So, her gold medal in 2025 was not her first result; it was the largest to date.

From ages 11 to 13, the competition became a scheduled event, with set dates, travel, and interaction with students from other states, as reported by Todo Dia. This is the same path taken by a 12-year-old student who traveled to New York to compete against youths from 54 countries in an international mathematics olympiad.

A Mother’s Fear and the Decision to Let Go

At home, the situation is different. “Despite the fear, I let her go because I can’t prevent an achievement that came with so much effort. The organizations are very careful, and everything is well-prepared,” said Elizene Dias Fernandes, the student’s mother, to Todo Dia.

Elizene added that her daughter enjoys the trips because she meets other students who love to study and connects with people from all over the country, according to the same report. This is the argument that helps alleviate her fears.

What the Junior Scientific Initiation Program (PIC) Offers Medal Winners

The program included with the medal has a simple entry requirement. “Any medal from the OBMEP, be it gold, silver, or bronze, grants access to the PIC. It’s a course that greatly aids in preparation. We receive study materials and cover topics like geometry, probability, and combinatorics,” explained Sophia to Todo Dia.

This is the mechanism that transforms a school test into a longer journey. A medal in a scientific olympiad can open doors for scientific initiation programs, monthly scholarships, and even exchange opportunities in China, depending on the results and the announcement.

What Changes from Level 1 to Level 2

In 2025, Sophia competed at Level 1, aimed at students in the 6th and 7th grades. This year she advanced to Level 2, meant for 8th and 9th graders, which increases the difficulty of the test, as explained by Todo Dia.

“I am studying and doing my utmost to earn the gold medal again. The change in level raises the difficulty, so I am studying even more and want to achieve gold once more,” said the student to the same newspaper.

The Date She Already Has Marked

Sophia participated in the OBMEP again in 2026 and advanced to the second phase, scheduled for October 17, according to Todo Dia. The results are expected in December.

There are two months of studying between qualifying and the test, and another two months between the test and the results. The olympiad’s timeline is long precisely because the correction of the second phase is done by hand, question by question.

The Region That Won the Most Medals

Americana was not the city with the best performance in the journalist’s coverage area. Campinas had the highest number of awards, with four golds, 17 silvers, and 32 bronzes, according to Todo Dia’s survey.

Also according to this survey, Paulínia received one gold, seven silvers, and five bronzes, Sumaré earned two golds, two silvers, and seven bronzes, and Santa Bárbara d’Oeste recorded one gold and eight bronzes. Limeira gathered three silvers and seven bronzes, Hortolândia two silvers and four bronzes, Nova Odessa one silver, and Cosmópolis one bronze.

The Path That Typically Follows

The journey that begins with the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools (OBMEP) often continues abroad when a student is determined, because the national medal qualifies them for the selection rounds of international competitions. In this circuit, the passport comes after the study materials.

This is what happened with the 13-year-old Brazilian who won gold for the second consecutive year at a math olympiad in Singapore, at the same age range that Sophia is now.

What she wants to do with it

With the experiences accumulated since she was 11, the student is already considering a career in mathematics, as reported by Todo Dia. It is the least visible consequence of a school olympiad and perhaps the most important.

For now, the agenda has a date and a number, according to the schedule released by the olympiad’s organization. The second phase test is on October 17, results will be announced in December, and her stated goal is to repeat the gold at a higher level.

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At 13, Sophia Dias Fernandes Excels in National Math Olympiad, Taking Her First Flight and Preparing for Advanced Challenges