![Students display medals they received during the Olympiad [Photo Courtesy of the South American Division]](https://images.hopesoftware.org/resize/L3c6MTkyMCxxOjc1L2hvcGUtaW1hZ2VzLzY1ZTcxMzAxZjY1NTI4MWE1MzhlZDM3My81TkwxNzEzODgxMTM2NjA0LmpwZw/w:1920,q:75/hope-images/65e71301f655281a538ed373/5NL1713881136604.jpg)
Three students from Colégio Adventista de Presidente Prudente (CAPP), in the interior of São Paulo, were medalists in the 24th Brazilian Astronomy and Astronautics Olympiad (OBA). From the same educational institution, 29 students from the 6th year of elementary school to the 3rd year of high school participated in the event. As a result, two students were awarded the gold medal (Rafael Kenzo Yamada, with a grade of 8.8; and Heitor da Silva Franco, with a grade of 8.6) and another was awarded bronze (Felipe Takeda Trombini, with a grade of 7.4).
The OBA is held annually by the Brazilian Astronomical Society (SAB) in partnership with the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), and this year, it was held on May 27. Participants are elementary and high school students from all over the country and Portuguese-speaking schools abroad. The Olympiad aims to encourage young people's interest in astronomy, astronautics, and related sciences.
Yamada, who achieved the highest score (8.8) of the CAPP medalists, says because it was his first participation in the Olympiad on the day of the competition, he was very nervous, but even though he had prepared a lot, he never imagined he would receive the gold medal.
Trombini, the youngest to be awarded, is also new to the OBA but guarantees it was enough to fall in love with astronomy. Franco also participated for the first time but guarantees it will be the first of many. He hopes this achievement will encourage his colleagues to also dedicate themselves to participate in the next edition of the OBA.
This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site