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Geography Challenge
International 2007
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| 2007 World Champions: Team Mexico |
Mexico takes gold
at National Geographic World Championship
SAN DIEGO (Aug. 9, 2007) - Beating teams from 16 other regions, Mexico took top honors at the eighth National Geographic World Championship held today at SeaWorld San Diego. The team from the United States came second, and Canada was third. Organized by the National Geographic Society, the competition was sponsored by SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Adventure Parks.
The Mexican team included Angel
Áliseda-Alonso, 16, of Zapopan, Jalisco; Carlos Elías Franco-Ruiz, 14, of Zapotlán
de Juárez, Hidalgo; and Emanuel Johansen-Campos, 15, of Tejalpa, Morelos. This is the
third National Geographic World Championship in which Mexico has participated.
The U.S. team members were Kelsey Schilperoort, 15, of Prescott, Ariz.; Neeraj Sirdeshmukh, 15, of Nashua, N.H.; and Matthew Vengalil, 15, of Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich. The Canadian team comprised Marky Freeman, 14, of Thornhill, Ontario; Maxim Ralchenko, 13, of Nepean, Ontario; and Jonathan Whyte, 13, of Toronto, Ontario.
The winning question was:
"What historic site was carved from sandstone in about 1200 B.C.? This site includes two huge temples and statues of an ancient ruler." |
| Answer: Abu Simbel |
In an Olympics-style ceremony, medals were awarded to the first-, second- and third-placed teams. Alex Trebek, host of the U.S. television quiz show "Jeopardy!", moderated the finals.
Mexico, the United States and Canada qualified for the final round after obtaining the highest combined scores in a written contest on Monday and in Tuesday's preliminary activity that included an outdoor map-reading course at SeaWorld.
Students were eligible to take part in the World Championship competition by winning or being a top finisher in the national competitions of their home regions. The 14 other teams that competed this year were from Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Chinese Taipei, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, India, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore and United Kingdom.
— National Geographic
• Watch video: "Mexico Wins National Geographic World Championship"
• Read about Team Canada's performance »
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