Vietnam's national high school physics team delivered one of its strongest collective performances at an international academic competition, with Da Nang student Nguyen Nhat Anh securing a gold medal at the 2026 European Physics Olympiad (EuPhO). The competition ran from June 12th to 16th in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted in Da Nang confirmed the result on June 17th. All five members of the Vietnamese delegation returned with medals, a result that underlines the country's growing depth in science education at the elite level.

Nhat Anh, a student in class A4K40 with a specialization in Physics, topped the Vietnamese contingent with the gold. His four teammates - Nguyen Vu Manh Khang from Le Quy Don Specialized High School in Gia Lai, Luong Duc Gia Bao from Hung Vuong Specialized High School in Phu Tho, and Nguyen Thanh Trung and Hoang Van Thai Son, both 12th-grade students from Bac Ninh Specialized High School - each won silver medals. The five students came from four different provinces and schools, a detail that speaks to the breadth of Vietnam's academic talent pipeline rather than its concentration in a single institution. Much like how emerging sporting markets develop strength across regions rather than just in capital cities - a pattern visible in football, athletics, and even niche disciplines where fans bet on live futsal cyprus and similar competitions to engage with grassroots growth - Vietnam's academic competition success is rooted in a genuinely distributed system of specialized schools.

The EuPhO format is demanding by design. Competitors face two separate examination blocks, each lasting five hours - one theoretical and one practical. The theory paper tests conceptual understanding across classical and modern physics, while the experimental component requires precision, methodical reasoning, and the ability to design and execute under time pressure. Achieving a gold medal across both components is not a matter of memorization; it demands the kind of structured problem-solving that mirrors the rigors of professional scientific research. For a high school student, that is a significant benchmark.

A Prestigious Stage, a Genuine Benchmark

EuPhO sits among the most respected international physics competitions for secondary school students, drawing strong delegations from across Europe and beyond. Unlike some academic contests that attract participation primarily from a narrow regional pool, EuPhO consistently features teams from nations with well-established physics education traditions. Vietnam's decision to enter the competition reflects a broader ambition within its specialized school network to measure students against international standards, not just domestic ones. A gold and four silvers from five competitors is a clean sweep in terms of medal haul, and it positions Vietnam as a competitive presence at the event.

Le Quy Don's Record and Vietnam's Wider Academic Ambitions

Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted in Da Nang is one of Vietnam's most recognized specialized institutions, with a history of producing students who perform at the highest levels of international academic competitions in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Nhat Anh's gold continues a tradition of achievement from the school that extends well beyond this single result. Vietnam's network of specialized high schools - which select and develop academically gifted students from an early age with intensive subject-focused curricula - has long been the engine behind the country's performance at events like the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) and the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). EuPhO adds another competitive front on which Vietnamese students have now made a clear mark.