THROUGHOUT his secondary schooling years, Yeoh Zi Song had been a familiar face at several Olympiads where he had scooped medals for his subject knowledge. He won gold at the 2018 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), silver at the 2018 and 2019 International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL), and gold at the 2020 International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) – all of which were Malaysia’s highest achievements in the respective competitions.
It all began for him at the age of 13 when he became one of the youngest ever winners at the IMO, taking home the bronze medal. And the 21-year-old has his father to thank for introducing him to the IMO as it had led him to meet like-minded friends, some of whom are currently studying with him at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.