Each person in the computer science team won a medal at the 19th Junior Balkan Olympiad in informatics, te event was called JBOT 2026. The event took place in Sarajevo. The location is in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was the time Saudi earned a full set of medals in this respected international programming contest. Saudi Junior Olympiad
Saudi faced 90 chosen competitors from 13 nations, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. The six Saudi members earned four silver medals and two bronze medals. The six-member Saudi contingent claimed four silver and two bronze medals.
The four silver medals were awarded to Fares Yasser Al-Radadi from the General Administration of Education in Madinah, Hashem Ibrahim Basyouni of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, and Riyadh-based scholars Ahmed Mohammed Al-Hussein and Eyad Emad Al-Khalifa. Meanwhile, bronze medals were earned by Mohammed Abdulkhaleq Al-Battat, representing the Eastern Region Education Department, and Al-Reem Ali Al-Mutawa from the Al-Ahsa Education Department.
The delegation’s flawless performance builds directly upon a remarkable year of competitive coding achievements for Saudi youth across the global stage. The success was spearheaded by the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) in strategic collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Education. Student candidates undergo rigorous qualification pathways—typically spanning two to four years—comprising specialized training camps, algorithmic logic exercises, selection trials, and real-time simulation contests designed to build high-level problem-solving capacities.
This flawless result follows closely behind a series of international recognitions for Saudi programmers in 2026. Earlier in the month, the senior Saudi team earned four distinctions at the 33rd Balkan Olympiad in Informatics in Tirana, Albania, including the nation’s first silver medal at that competition. That result raised Saudi Arabia’s total BOI tally to 17 career awards across four participations. Furthermore, during August, Saudi competitors secured three honors at the 38th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, led by Mohammed Nasser Al-Asmari’s historic silver medal, bringing the Kingdom’s lifetime IOI award tally to 14.
Founded in 2007 in Belgrade, Serbia, the Junior Balkan Olympiad in Informatics tests younger secondary students on advanced software programming, complex algorithmic thinking, and computational logic under strict competitive parameters.
The achievements reflect the broader impact of Mawhiba’s national talent development initiatives. In 2025 alone, over 31,000 students participated in Mawhiba programs, with more than 14,000 participating in academic research and specialized preparation. That cohort delivered 129 international awards across 26 global Olympiads and science fairs. By consistently preparing young talent for elite global forums, Saudi Arabia continues to reinforce its broader Human Capability Development Program under Vision 2030, establishing a robust national foundation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Turk Business News
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