8-year-old Mexican math genius to compete in China

Though Sergio Antonio Luna Álvarez is only eight years old, his outstanding abilities to build new things, read, retain information, and make mental calculations have amazed experts in Mexico. He recently won the ALOHA Mental Arithmetic competition at state and national levels and will travel to China on July 20 to compete in the world championship.

The young boy will be the first person to represent Querétaro in an international mental arithmetic competition, which he is also likely to win.

Sergio can solve up to 70 math problems in 2 minutes and 15 seconds, which led him to win the excellency cup at the state level after solving every single mathematical operation in record time and without error.

Outstanding skills

Annoyed by outdoor activities and sports, Sergio began studying mathematics under the Aloha method, which teaches children to develop concentration and memory skills while training them to excel in mental arithmetic. There, he learned to use the Japanese abacus known as “soroban,” which helped him develop his skills to solve math operations.

His mother, Cynthia Álvarez Frías , became his personal trainer. Every day, she helps her son practice for at least 20 minutes a day.

“Sergio and I are very committed to this and we practice for 20 minutes every day. Sergio solves worksheets with 148 operations each. He finishes them in 5 minutes’ time, approximately,” she told.

“If he feels tired and doesn’t feel like practicing, I let him take the day off and I try to make up for it the next day. Sergio loves it, he sees it as some kind of game,” she added.

After winning first place in the regional and national ALOHA Mental Arithmetic competitions, Sergio and his parents are getting ready to travel to China in July, where the World ALOHA Competition will take place.

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