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 News from Around the Americas | August 2007 
Mexico Wins World Geography Championship
 Allison Hoffman - Associated Press
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| | Students from Mexico win the National Geographic World Championship geography bee in San Diego Thursday Aug. 9, 2007. The team of Carlos Franco, Angel Aliseda, and Emanuel Johansen, from left, defeated teams from Canada and the United States in the final. (Lenny Ignelzi/AP) |
A trio of Mexican teenagers won the eighth National Geographic World Championship on Thursday, dethroning the United States, a four-time champion.
To win, they had to name the historic site that was carved from sandstone in 1200 B.C. and features two massive temples and statues of an ancient ruler. The teens nailed the answer — the Egyptian monument Abu Simbel.
"To win gold, it's really great," said team member Emanuel Johansen Campos, 15, of Tejalpa, Mexico. "I don't have any words."
The competition tests teenagers on geography, demographics and political history. Teams and individuals were asked to identify errors on maps, countries based on demographic statistics and the origin of tribal musical instruments and carved relics loaned by the San Diego Museum of Man.
It was the first finals appearance for Mexico. Johansen was joined by Carlos Franco Ruiz, 14, of Zapotlan de Juarez, north of Mexico City, and team captain Angel Aliseda Alonso, 16, of Guadalajara. The team had help from a translator in the contest, which was held in English.
The United States was defending the title it won two years ago in Budapest, Hungary. The team gave up a brief advantage halfway through the hourlong contest at SeaWorld Adventure Park and then stumbled again in the finals, guessing Slovenia rather than Albania as a destination for European refugees during the Kosovo war in 1999.
Competitors from 14 other countries were eliminated in the preliminary round.
Contestants from those teams watched intently from the stands at Shamu Stadium, whispering answers furiously to each other as "Jeopardy!" host and quizmaster Alex Trebek waited for responses from the teams onstage.
Most participants were boys, though Trebek noted that more girls are competing now than when the contest began in the early 1990s.
The National Geographic Society holds the contest every other year. Past champions include Canada and Australia. |
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