Thirty years after: The lives of former winners of mathematical Olympiads

Abstract

Mathematical Olympiads are generally regarded as one of the best methods for identifying talented students and attracting them to mathematics. Nevertheless, although the achievements and the names of certain Olympiad winners have become widely known, there are no statistics concerning the vast majority of former winners. How did their lives turn out? What became of these people who were considered mathematically gifted in childhood? What are their own views regarding the Olympiads and their mathematical education as a whole? This article attempts to answer these questions by tracing the lives of a large group of winners of the St. Petersburg (Russia) Olympiad. The research makes use of two surveys conducted in 1991 and in 2001. A comparison of the responses to these questionnaires also makes it possible to draw certain conclusions about the changes that have taken place in these people's lives over the course of the recent crucial decade in Russian history.