'Double' Gold Medals at Physics Olympiad for Nghe An Male Student

The fateful "side turn"

Nguyen The Quan (12A3 student, Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, Nghe An) is the only contestant of the Vietnamese team that has just won the Gold Medal at the 2025 International Physics Olympiad held in France. Quan is also the contestant with the second highest practical score in the world , helping the Vietnamese team to be in the top 10 countries with the best achievements.

Nguyen The Quan won the gold medal at the 2025 International Physics Olympiad.

With this result, in 2025 alone, Quan has won both international and regional Olympic Gold Medals. Previously, in May 2025, the Nghe An male student won a Gold Medal at the Asia- Pacific Physics Olympiad, helping the Vietnamese delegation rank among the top 5 countries and territories with the highest achievements. Last year, Quan was the only 11th grader in the Vietnamese delegation to participate in the exam and won a Bronze Medal. “I am very happy and quite surprised. I am still feeling excited,” Quan shared.

Originally a student majoring in Mathematics in junior high school, Quan decided to “turn” to Physics. That turning point opened up a fascinating new world for the student. The more he studied, the more fascinated he became. Physics taught him how to look at things with logical thinking, creativity and scientific curiosity. In grade 9, he won the provincial Physics consolation prize, before becoming the valedictorian of grade 10 in the Physics class at Phan Boi High School for the Gifted.

The coronation moment of Nguyen The Quan with the Vietnamese flag

"Double" Gold Medals in one year

Quan's journey to the top was not a bed of roses. The stumble in grade 11 at the 2024 Asian Physics Olympiad was an expensive lesson that he could never forget. The first time he stepped into the international arena, facing an exam entirely in English, Quan was a bit bewildered. That time, although he could solve all the questions in the exam, there were many points where he could not express his ideas correctly due to language limitations, leading to not completing the test as expected and only winning a Bronze Medal.

However, instead of sinking into disappointment, Quan turned sadness into motivation, determined to "take revenge". Entering grade 12, Quan came back stronger. The proof is that despite being exempted from the national excellent student selection round, he was still determined to participate and excellently won first prize. Not only that, he was also the student with the highest score in the national team selection exam to compete in the regional and international Olympics before "taking home" 2 gold medals.

Nguyen The Quan (holding the Vietnamese flag) and his friends attended the exam.

Sharing the secret to success, Quan humbly said that there is nothing special other than self-study. “In addition to acquiring knowledge from teachers, you need to be highly determined, especially self-study. The biggest difficulty is maintaining the flame of passion and a stable mentality,” Quan shared. When feeling pressured, he chooses to temporarily leave his books, go for a walk, observe nature or chat with relatives. Those necessary moments of silence help him recharge and return to the learning cycle more effectively.

Ms. Cao Thi Lan Thanh, Principal of Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, shared: “Nguyen The Quan always shows his efforts and passion, especially never giving up his desire to conquer the peaks. This result is completely worthy of his efforts. His achievements are the joy and pride of his teachers, family and the education sector of Nghe An province.”

With 2 Olympic Gold Medals in 2025, Nguyen The Quan was admitted directly to the top universities in the country. He plans to study Physics at the University of Science - Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Further, if given the opportunity, he wants to study abroad to develop himself.

The 55th International Physics Olympiad was held in France from July 17 to July 25, with the participation of 94 delegations (including 5 observer delegations) from 94 countries and territories, and 406 contestants.

The Vietnamese delegation had 5 students participating in this year's competition and all won medals: 1 Gold Medal, 4 Silver Medals. With this result, the Vietnamese delegation is in the top 10 countries with the highest results at IPhO 2025.