A member of the Israeli delegation to the 52nd international chemistry Olympiad held this year in Istanbul, became the first Israeli competitor in a decade to win a gold medal at the prestigious event. The Israelis competed against 240 youths from 60 nations. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s event was held via Zoom.

Roi Peer, 18, of Gan Haim, scored a total of 90.35 qualifying him for the gold medal. Peer had won a silver last year, and a bronze two years ago. Peer’s teammates, Ron Shprints and Bar Sheffer, earned silver medals with scores of 83.31 and 81.80 respectively. Team member Ward Yahya scored 62.05 for a bronze.

The Education Ministry oversaw the team’s training.