Turkey wins 3 gold medals in European Physics Olympiad

Turkey won three gold and two silver medals in the European Physics Olympiad, officials said Wednesday.

Turkish students ranked first among 35 countries in the competition held in the Latvian capital of Riga from May 31 to June 4, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) said in a tweet.

Yunus Emre Parmaksız, Alkın Kaz and Abdürrahman Hadi Ertürk claimed gold while Kutay Akın and Bayram Alp Şahin won silver, together scoring 136.5 points to win the contest.

Estonia followed Turkey with 117.8 points while Slovenia got 112.3 points, Bulgaria 107.4 and Singapore 106.6.

Turkish Technology and Industry Minister Mustafa Varank congratulated the Turkish team in a tweet.

"We are grateful to the students who brought us this achievement and pride. We are going to implement Turkey's incredible potential in science and technology with our science-dedicated youth," Varank said.

European Physics Olympiad is an annual contest for high school students from Europe and elsewhere.

Successful students will attend the International Physics Olympiad to be held in Israel from July 7-15.