14-year-old Colombian math prodigy eyes Singapore Olympics after rapid rise

Sebastián Trujillo was sitting in the final exam of the Regional Mathematics Olympiad when something shifted. The clock was still running. The problems were still there. But somewhere between the first question and the last, he stopped feeling like he was fighting and started feeling like he was playing. He was fourteen years old, in seventh grade, and in the span of a single year he had gone from a student his school invited to a local competition to a representative of Colombia preparing to compete in Singapore.

He doesn't remember the moment mathematics became something he loved. There was no particular class, no teacher who convinced him, no formula that rewired his brain. When he tries to explain it, he always comes back to the same word: curiosity. "More than having a starting point, it goes back to who I've always been," he said. "Someone curious. Someone restless. Someone who doesn't just accept what they're given, but wants to go further." That restlessness has carried him far. In 2025, his school asked some of its stronger students to enter the regional competition. Sebastián said yes almost without thinking about what might happen. He placed first in his grade. Then came the nationals, where he placed first again, representing the Valle del Cauca. That qualification led to Olimpri, an international competition held virtually from Mexico, where he won bronze. Then came Sasmo, an Asian mathematics olympiad, also virtual, where he took silver. Now he is preparing for the Singapore International Mathematics Olympiad Challenge, scheduled for mid-July 2026, a physical competition that sent him an official invitation based on his track record.

The problems he faces in these competitions bear almost no resemblance to the arithmetic most people associate with school mathematics. "They give us two hours and we have to solve problems," he explained. "But they're never the kind where you find X. They challenge your critical thinking. They're problems without a stable formula—you have to create one or adapt to one." The exams themselves are administered with almost clinical precision. During virtual competitions, cameras stay on, microphones stay open, screens are shared, and proctors watch constantly. Some competitors have been disqualified for finishing too quickly or posting perfect scores—the kind of performance that triggers suspicion.

His mother, Mireya Cárdenas, watches all of this unfold and sees something beyond the medals. "What moves me most as his mother isn't just his talent," she said. "It's the passion and discipline he brings to everything. Beyond his achievements, I see a boy who enjoys what he does, who gets excited solving problems, who is curious and puts love into everything he does. That matters more to me than all the medals or recognition." The daily routine is a careful balance. After school and before basketball practice at Club Leones de Cali, Sebastián works through problems at his desk. He hunts for exercises from past competitions or problems that target areas where he knows he needs to improve. He solves them however he can, then checks the official solution and adjusts his approach. It's deliberate, methodical, and—by his own account—genuinely fun.

But even with mathematics occupying so much of his time and attention, he hasn't decided it will be his life. "I haven't thought deeply yet about what I want to do when I'm older," he said. "But if I keep going down this road, it will probably be something related." His family has been careful not to let the competitions become the whole story. They celebrate effort over results. They listen. They try to keep the focus on the person he is becoming rather than the trophies he is winning. "When a child has a talent and such a beautiful desire to keep learning," his mother said, "as a parent you just want to help make that path possible and make sure that dream doesn't go out." In July, Sebastián will board a plane to Singapore. He will sit down with problems he has never seen before. And if the pattern holds, he will find a way to enjoy it.