Chinese mainland and China's Taiwan won five gold medals each, finishing first at the 39th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) that ended in Vietnam's Hanoi capital on Monday.

South Korea, India and the United States grabbed four gold medals and one silver medal each, ranking the second, followed by Vietnam with four gold medals and one bronze medal, Thailand with three gold medals and two silver medals, and Russia with three gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal.

A total of 376 high school students from 82 countries and regions sat for intensive theoretical and experimental exams, Banh Tien Long, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Education and Training and chairman of the 39th IPhO organizing committee, said at the event's closing ceremony on Monday.

A total of 46 gold medals, 47 silver medals, 78 bronze medals and 87 honorable mentions were awarded to most outstanding delegates to 39th IPhO, annual physics competition for high school students.

The competition's absolute winner is Chinese young man Tan Longzhi who gained a total of 44.6 points out of a maximum score of 50.

With four gold medals and one bronze medal, the host country has made biggest-ever achievements since it first partook in IPhO in 1981, said Chu Dinh Thuy, chairman of the Vietnam Physical Society. The Ministry of Education and Training and his society were in charge of organizing the event.

As a rule, the competition is for teams of five students, none of whom have yet to enter university. Individual competitors sit for intensive theoretical and laboratory exams. The next IPhO will be held in Mexico.

(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2008)