This year's competition had students from 90 countries participate. Of the 354 participants, 220 earned a gold, silver or bronze medal. Overall, Team USA had an impressive performance.
The team was supported by head mentor Songwen Xie of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, as well as college mentor Borislava Bekker from American River College. High school mentors Komal Jain of Lake Braddock Secondary School and Steve Lantos of Brookline High School also supported the team. ACS has sponsored the U.S. team annually since the country joined the Olympiad in 1984.
IChO originated with Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary in 1968. Soon, other Eastern European countries joined the event; Western Europe began participating in 1974. The first U.S. team competed in 1984, winning one silver and two bronze medals.
