ICM 2026 Leak Reveals Possible Fields Medal Winners

On July 23, the quadrennial 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) will be held in Philadelphia, USA. During the congress, the Fields Medal, the IMU Abacus Medal, the Chern Medal Award, and the Gauss Prize will be presented simultaneously.

Among these honors, the Fields Medal is the most widely recognized and is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Mathematics.” According to leaked information, the code of the ICM 2026 official website schedule allegedly revealed the names of this year’s Fields Medal recipients in advance: Hong Wang, Yu Deng, John Pardon, and Jacob Tsimerman.

If the information is confirmed, this would mark the first time that Chinese mathematicians have won two Fields Medals in the same ICM. The four mathematicians received their academic training at institutions including Peking University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Princeton University.

Hong Wang’s major achievement lies in a 127-page paper co-authored with Joshua Zahl, which announced a breakthrough on the long-standing Kakeya conjecture, creating a major impact across the mathematical community. Yu Deng, together with Xiao Ma and Zaher Hani, co-authored a paper that successfully resolved the century-old mathematical challenge known as Hilbert’s Sixth Problem. John Pardon has made groundbreaking contributions in geometry and topology, with pioneering research in areas such as symplectic geometry and pseudoholomorphic curves. Jacob Tsimerman’s research focuses on the intersection of number theory, arithmetic geometry, and algebraic geometry, and he is renowned for his unconditional proof of the André–Oort conjecture.

Beyond the prizes, the official invited lectures at the ICM are also highly anticipated. Being invited to give a lecture at the International Congress of Mathematicians is a significant recognition that a mathematician’s work has gained international academic attention and acknowledgment.

Among these lectures, the one-hour plenary lecture is one of the highest-profile formats at the congress. Invited speakers present their major achievements in important research areas, representing some of the most significant recent developments and advances in mathematics.

The official website has now released the list of speakers for the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians. A total of 23 mathematicians will deliver one-hour plenary lectures. Among them, 18 are affiliated with universities, and the University of Toronto alone has two scholars selected to give hour-long lectures, highlighting the dominant role of universities in cultivating mathematical talent.

Next week, the final results of the Fields Medal will be announced. Will these four mathematicians ultimately receive the award? WorldHE will continue to follow the developments.