Jericho High School’s Brent Costello took home two medals after traveling to Paris to compete in the International History Olympiad this summer. Although he didn’t always love history itself, Costello said he was always interested in “fun facts and mesmerizing things.”
After three years of competing, Costello earned a silver medal in the Popular Music event and a bronze medal in the Scramble event this summer. The scramble tournament tested participants’ knowledge of cultural history from the year 500 to the present, he said.
Costello, a rising freshman, said he began competing in the sixth grade after taking school-mandated history, geography and science exams. He said he excelled in the history and geography subjects, and qualified for regional competitions shortly afterwards.
The International History Olympiad is hosted by International Academic Competitions and follows a quiz-style format. The competition, which was held from July 20 through July 26, tests participants on their knowledge of historical events across centuries.
According to the Olympiad’s website, the competition is a “biennial celebration of history attended by the best primary and secondary school history students from around the world, featuring competitions, field trips, social activities, and much more.”
This year there were 432 students in attendance, representing 24 countries, the website said.
“I see competing in this competition as certification that I am among the best of the best students when it comes to history,” he said.
This wasn’t Costello’s first history competition, though. He competed in the 2023 and 2024 National History Bees in Arlington, Va., and Orlando, Fla., respectively.
At the 2023 International History Olympiad in Rome, Costello earned medals in Black American History, Italian History and Music History events.
Costello said he “enjoys competing in any form.”
In addition to his participation in quiz-style events, Costello took part in the French Resistance Historical Simulation, which was based on a meeting of the French resistance movement against the German occupation in June 1943. Costello was assigned a real-life historical figure, who was a courier and key member of the movement.
The Olympiad’s website says the simulation is designed to serve as a “dynamic competition that reimagines how history could have played out differently.”
Costello said that while preparing for the competition, he studied his notes covering various topics and quizzed himself on the historic events until he got each question correct. His love for fun facts and trivia came from watching competition shows with his family, he said.
“I would always watch “Jeopardy!” with my dad and tell friends and family random trivia facts,” he said.
This summer, Costello said, he set out for gold in Popular Music, but ultimately earned silver though that’s not deterring him from continuing to compete.
“I am determined to use that to get better and be more confident for future events,” he said.
