Abstract
For over 50 years, the International Mathematical Olympiad has enabledstudents from a growing number of countries around the world to compete against each other in solving original and notoriously difficult mathematical problems. How do participating countries select and prepare the team that will represent them at the Mathematical Olympics ? Based on individual and national results at the Olympiad, we'll look at different national strategies and the results they produce. We will then look at the French case to illustrate in more detail the evolution of institutional mechanisms for producing Olympiad participants.
