Hamilton student Woojin Kim's mathematics skills have already added up to four world titles for his age group and he's now looking to secure a fifth.
The 13-year-old is the defending Mathletics champion for his age, crowning him the best mathematician for students in his age group.
The annual 48-hour competition – held by online maths programme Mathletics – pits millions of students from across the world head-to-head to solve as many maths equations as they can in 60 seconds.
The programme rewards students with points for every correct answer, but three wrong answers within the 60 seconds means disqualification. Students are encouraged to answer every question for a chance at securing points.
Mathletics is also a compulsory requirement in the New Zealand curriculum for students in years 5 to 8, which began rolling out at the start of 2025. The programme caters to years 1 to 13.
World Maths Day was first held in 2007, making the day almost 20 years old.
In his time, Woojin has competed against more than a million students and said he enjoyed the maths and competitive side of the programme.
“Ever since I was 9 years old, that was my first win, I did not expect to get this far,” the Rototuna Junior High School student told TVNZ's Breakfast.
"In my primary, it was compulsory – we had to do it to do some learning.
"We had to get at least 1000 points each week.”
Woojin won last year by 288 points and claimed it was an easy win. Although, he admitted to feeling a little bit of pressure when doing the 60-second maths equations.
Mathletics begins on World Maths Day 2026, on March 25, and runs for the following 48 hours.
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