The US Geography Olympiad was founded in part to provide American students with a chance to qualify for and attend the annual International Geography Olympiad (aka iGeo). The 2017 iGeo was held in Belgrade, Serbia from August 2-7, and Team USA placed 3rd out of 41 teams overall, our highest finish to date! 2017 also marks the first year all four students on the team won medals, with Martin Rakowszczyk (Wootton High School, Rockville, MD) winning gold, and AJ Manning (Bartow IB High School, Bartow, FL), Jakob Myers (Naperville North High School, Naperville, IL), and Kyle Yu (Westlake High School, Westlake, OH) winning silver medals. Jason Flowers of Austin, TX and Steve Muench of Livingston, NJ coached the 2017 lineup of Team USA to their unprecedented success. The team braved 108 degree heat (setting an all-time record for the month of August in Belgrade!) to post their great results on the three iGeo components: the Multi-Media multiple choice exam, the Written Exam, and the Fieldwork Exercise. They also participated in the annual poster presentation, cultural evening, and sightseeing in Belgrade and around Serbia. Congratulations to Team USA for all their success, and good luck to everyone looking to qualify for the 2018 iGeo in Quebec City!
Team USA 2017 from L to R: AJ Manning, Coach Jason Flowers, Jakob Myers, Coach Steve Muench, Kyle Yu, Martin Rakowszczyk. Martin won a gold medal; everyone else won a silver medal. This marks the highest finish to date of Team USA, and the first time all students on the team won a medal.
