ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 17, 1996 TAG: 9607170039
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BOMBAY, INDIA
Here's a math problem from the 37th Mathematical Olympiad: If the Romanian and U.S. teams both win four golds and two silvers, why does the Romanian team win the tournament?
Because of Ciprian Manolescu, whose perfect score in last week's math tournament for teen-agers gave the Romanian whiz kids a 187-185 edge over their U.S. counterparts.
While other gold medalists from among the 75 participating nations pumped their fists and yelped gleefully as the results were announced Tuesday, Manolescu only grinned, and bowed slightly.
``I'm thrilled,'' the 17-year-old high school student said.
Manolescu called home to share the good news with his parents in southern Romania.
``They congratulated me, but not for long,'' he said. ``It's very expensive to call Romania from here.''
Despite the narrow defeat for the six-member U.S. team, their showing was a vast improvement over last year's 11th place. At the 1994 tournament in Hong Kong, the U.S. team accomplished a historic first when all six members attained perfect scores.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 32 linesby CNB