Spain finished first overall at the 2026–27 European Chemistry Olympiad, held from 29 September to 2 October 2026 at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in Oslo, Norway.
Competing under the team name Heisenberg, the Spanish delegation secured the overall team title and also recorded the strongest individual medal result of the competition. Spain’s five-member team finished with two gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal.
The two Spanish individual gold medals were awarded to Andrew Pales and Thomas Andey. Spain also received the event’s coaching distinction, with Dr. Maher Ali named Best EU Chemistry Coach. A comment from Dr. Ali had not been received at the time of publication.
The Oslo competition brought together national delegations representing 29 Schengen countries, with each team consisting of five competitors. The event concluded with France in second place and Switzerland in third, while Germany and the Netherlands completed the top five.
France finished the competition with one gold medal, two silver medals and two honourable mentions across its five-member team. Switzerland recorded one gold medal, one silver medal, one bronze medal and two honourable mentions, which placed it third overall. Germany finished fourth with one gold medal, two bronze medals and two honourable mentions, while the Netherlands placed fifth after earning three silver medals, one bronze medal and one honourable mention.
Sweden finished sixth, followed by host nation Norway in seventh. Belgium placed eighth, Denmark ninth and Finland tenth.
The remaining positions were occupied by Austria, Portugal, Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Italy.
Spain’s result also marked the country’s first individual gold-medal success in the competition since 2017. According to the competition history provided for the 2026–27 edition, Spain had gone nine years without an individual gold before the two victories recorded in Oslo.
The 2026–27 result was also notable because Spain finished first across the event’s three principal areas of recognition: the overall team competition, individual medal standings and coaching award. France had previously achieved a comparable sweep across these categories in 2021.
The competition, which has been held since 2005, reached its 22nd edition with the Oslo event.
The top 10 national teams were:
- Spain
- France
- Switzerland
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Norway
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Finland
The official award ceremony is scheduled to take place following the conclusion of the competition. Team awards, individual medals, honourable mentions and the Best EU Chemistry Coach distinction are expected to be formally presented during the ceremony.
Spain will receive the overall championship award, while France and Switzerland will be recognised for their second- and third-place finishes respectively.
The competition also determines European representation for the next stage of international chemistry competition. The top 10 teams from the Oslo standings are scheduled to represent Europe at the upcoming international chemistry competition in Taiwan.
Those teams are Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Denmark and Finland.
The Taiwan event will therefore include the 10 highest-ranked European delegations from the Oslo competition. Spain will enter as the top-ranked European team from this edition, while the remaining nine countries will complete the European contingent.
With the Oslo competition concluded, attention now moves to the formal award ceremony and the subsequent international event in Taiwan. The 2026–27 edition closes with Spain at the top of the overall standings, France in second place and Switzerland in third.
Feature image by Sergei Starostin from Pexels
