Brazil won four gold medals and one bronze at the 16th Latin American Astronomy and Astronautics Olympiad (OLAA). The event took place between November 25th and 29th in Costa Rica.
Students Larissa Midori, Lucas Praça, Filipe Ya Hu and Luca Pimenta took the gold. The team’s medal table also included the bronze won by Arthur Gurjão. Furthermore, Luca Pimenta also obtained the second highest score from OLAA. The Brazilian delegation also included professors Julio Klafke, Fellipy Silva and Heliomarzio.
For Júlio Klafke, professor who led the group, the gold and bronze are a valuable achievement for the students. “They all prepared all year with a lot of dedication and enthusiasm. We are proud.”
Student Luca Pimenta, 16, from Colégio Passo de Valinhos, in the interior of São Paulo, said that winning the gold medal and second place overall was more than an academic achievement because he was passionate about astronomy since he was little. “The astronomy Olympics was what allowed me to study the theory, the mathematics behind what happens in the sky. Getting the medal and second place is a dream come true since childhood. Winning an award in an international competition is something that weighs heavily on your CV. As one of my dreams is to go to a university outside of Brazil, this weighs heavily.”
Brazilians competed for knowledge about astronomy and astronautics with students from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
At OLAA, participants take individual and group theoretical and practical tests, as well as astronomical observation and launching PET bottle rockets.
Costa Rica, 12/02/2024 – Brazilian team wins 4 gold medals and one bronze at the Astronomy and Astronautics Olympics. Photo: OLAA/Disclosure – OLAA/Disclosure
Selection
To participate in the Latin American (OLAA) or international (IOAA) Olympiad, students need to achieve a high score in level 4 of the Brazilian Astronomy and Astronautics Olympiad (OBA) of the previous year. They are then invited to participate in various stages of classification, with online and in-person tests and training until the final choice of the team that will represent the country.
The OBA is carried out by the Brazilian Astronomical Society (SAB) and has the support of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), in addition to Federal deputies Tabata Amaral, André Janones, Vitor Lippi, Senator Marcos Pontes, the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), the Universidade Paulista (UNIP), the Centro Universitário Facens and BTG Pactual. The OBA also has the channels Manual do Mundo, Space Today, Física Total and AstroBioFísica as ambassadors.
About OLAA
Founded in Montevideo (Uruguay) in 2008, with the participation of Brazil, the Latin American Astronomy and Astronautics Olympiad (OLAA) is an event organized by representatives of Latin American countries with the aim of popularizing astronomy and astronautics, in addition to to value the most outstanding school talents, promoting mutual collaboration between nations.
