Vietnamese students won three gold medals at the 54^th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) that closed Sunday in Colombia, according to the website of the competition.

The medalists are Vo Anh Duc, enrolled in a high school in central Vietnam, and two students from the southern hub Ho Chi Minh City, Pham Tuan Huy and Can Tran Thanh Trung. 

The other three members of the Vietnamese team collected silver medals.

Vietnam ranked 7 out of 97 participating countries, preceded respectively by Singapore, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Russia, the United States, the Republic of Korea, and China.

This is a step forward from last year’s competition in which the Southeast Asian nation was placed ninth with one gold medal, three silvers, and two bronzes.

In 2011 Vietnam established its worst ever record in 35 years of competing at IMO by earning a mere six bronze medals in the Netherlands.       

Opening on July 18 in Santa Marta city, the 2013 IMO was attended by 528 contestants.

Its 55^th edition will be organized in Cape Town, South Africa from July 3 to 13 next year.

First held in Romania in 1959, IMO is an annual competition for pre-collegiate students and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads.