Four female math wizards made a difference as they hauled medals, making all members of the Philippine team, for the first time, to rise above the challenge in the 2012 China Girls' Mathematics Olympiad (CGMO) held in Guangzhou, China on August 8-12, 2012.
 
The CGMO is a math competition with a proof-based format similar to the International Mathematical Olympiad. It was originally organized in 2002 for teams of girls representing different regions within China. Later, the Chinese organizers decided to invite other nations to send teams of girls from their countries.
 
Emerging to the standard of the CGMO was Ma. Czarina Lao of St. Jude Catholic School who made a mark by hooking another silver medal since 2008. Just last month, Czarina who was made to join in the all girls international team in the 2012 TAIMC, won a gold medal.
 
The three other mathletes, keeping pace with their goal, made a clean sweep by turning their participation historic as they brought home a bronze medal each, a remarkable record since our country's participation in 2003. Now standing with few peers areKelsey Lim Tiong Soon of Grace Christian College, Reine Jiana Reynoso of Philippine Science High School- Main Campus andMikaela Angelina Uy of St. Jude Catholic School.
 
In 2009, Carmela Antoinette Lao fulfilled the Philippines' dream for gold when she hooked the first ever gold medal. The CGMO is far from the ordinary since it really contains brain-racking and mind-boggling problems which make the only best in mathematics worthy to be in the circle of the very few survivors of the contest. This competition which starts from the difficult problems and ends in extremely tough and complicated problems gives the participants the exhaustive hours of burning their neurons in solving the problems.
 
Dr. Simon L. Chua, MTG president, hopes that this accomplishment will not only be duplicated but also be surpassed by the future math aces, participating in the CGMO. Dr. Chua added, "This is really one of the hardest math contests in the world, almost parallel to that of IMO, surviving the CGMO is something for the winners and for all of us."
 
Currently, any participant winning gold in the CMGO is selected to take part in the China Mathematical Olympiad (CMO), that is, the Winter Camp- a training preparing participants for the International Mathematics Olympiad.