JEDDAH: Five Saudi students are competing in the 19th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics in Hanoi, Vietnam. The competition runs from Sept. 25 to Oct. 5 and features participants from more than 60 countries. The Saudi team comprises Fatimah Nazih Damlakhan and Eileen Hani Azhari from Jeddah, Hisham Ayman Rafiq from the Eastern Province, and Omar Khalid Al-Shehri and Maram Abdulaziz Al-Barrak from Riyadh. Beforehand, they completed an intensive training program organized by the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, known as Mawhiba, in partnership with the Ministry of Education. Tatweer Education Holding sponsored the program under Mawhiba’s International Olympiads Program. The students began their journey in the science track of the National Giftedness Olympiad. They then joined Mawhiba’s physics track, attending training sessions over several years before taking selection tests. The annual competition is open to secondary school students under 20 and tests their astronomy knowledge through theoretical questions and practical exercises involving observation, data analysis and simulations. The Kingdom also competed in the 2025 International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics in Mumbai in August. Five Saudi students took part alongside about 300 participants from 64 countries. Their preparation included months of training through Mawhiba in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Saudi Space Agency. The tests included a planetarium exercise in which students identified celestial objects and applied their theoretical knowledge. The 2025 event marked the Kingdom’s second appearance at the Olympiad. At its 2024 debut, it won one silver medal, three bronze medals and two certificates of merit.