Latvian students win record haul at international geography olympiad

Latvia achieved its best-ever result at the International Geography Olympiad, placing fifth in the country rankings while winning one gold medal, two silver medals and one third-place finish, LSM reported.

All four members of Latvia’s team returned from the competition with medals. The olympiad was held in Istanbul and brought together 184 students from more than 50 countries.

Two of Latvia’s silver medallists were students at Jelgava Spīdola State Gymnasium. Raivo Zimelis and Kārlis Zikmanis had previously won gold and bronze medals respectively at the Baltic Geography Olympiad.

Zimelis said the international competition had many more participants than the Baltic contest. He came close to winning gold, falling short by less than one percentage point.

He said the fieldwork component had been the most difficult, requiring participants to take part in an excursion and examine, observe and compare different features.

Zikmanis said the competition consisted of a written section worth 40 percent, practical fieldwork worth another 40 percent and test-style tasks accounting for the remaining 20 percent. He found the written section most challenging, particularly questions about coral reefs and practical glaciers.

The students preparation for the olympiad extended beyond regular school lessons. At upper secondary level, opportunities to study geography depend on the programme a student chooses.