Hristo Balarev, an eighth grader at Paisii Hilendarski Mathematical High School in Sofia, won a gold medal in mathematics at the Copernicus Olympiad, the final round of which takes place in New York between July 15 and 18. The award ceremony took place on July 18, 2024 in the Columbia University.

The Consul General, Angel Angelov, was a guest at the award ceremony and welcomed the finalists, as well as, on behalf of himself and the Ambassador of Bulgaria to the USA, Georgi Panayotov, personally congratulated the Bulgarian participant on his impressive success.

The Copernicus Olympiad was created in 2020 by a team of scientists and educators in Houston, Texas and aims to provide an opportunity for talented students from 3rd to 12th grade from all over the world (about 50 countries in total). In the 2023-2024 academic year, it is its fifth edition, involving nearly 1,000 students from over 30 countries. Students compete in a number of disciplines (natural sciences, physics and astronomy, mathematics and entrepreneurship). Each individual discipline of the Olympiad is held in two rounds: an online elimination round and a global, in-person round. Students who score 40% and above in the elimination round are eligible to participate in the global round.