A third year high school student from Saint Jude Catholic School in Manila made history in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Bremen, Germany, by becoming the first female Filipino contestant to win a medal in the contest.

Carmela Antoinette Lao won a bronze in the IMO, the oldest math contest in the world. The contest was held in Germany from July 10-22.

The Philippine team arrived in the country Friday via Qatar Airways flight QR646.

Lao said hard work, training and the support of her parents contributed to her success. “I thank God the Father for His grace and mercy. I thank my parents for their unconditional love and support,” she said.

She also thanked her mentors who trained her along with the other Filipino contestants. These are her coaches for the IMO--Julius Basilla of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, Ian June Garces of Ateneo de Manila University, Timothy Ong and Richard Eden — and her trainers from the Mathematics Trainers’ Guild-Philippines headed by Dr. Simon Chua.

Besides Lao, other Filipino contestants in the IMO were Carlo Francisco Adajar, a graduate of PAREF Southridge School, and Earl John Chua and Jonathan Wong, both graduates of Grace Christian College.

This year’s contest drew 565 contestants from 104 countries including math powerhouses China, United States, Japan and South Korea. China became the overall leader in the contest by garnering six gold medals followed by Japan with five gold medals and one bronze. Russia was third followed by South Korea, North Korea and the United States.

Thailand was the lone Southeast Asian country to enter the top 10 by placing seventh. The Philippines ranked 78th overall out of 104 countries. In the individual contest, Dongyi Wei of China and Makoto Soejima from Japan were ranked first for garnering perfect scores in the math tilt.

The Philippines also won a bronze medal last year courtesy of Diogo Miguel Moitinho de Almeida of Ateneo de Manila High School. Lao said she is looking forward to joining the 51st IMO in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2010.