Yotam Budnik, far left, with the Israeli flag draped over his shoulders at the award ceremony for the 38th International Olympiad in Informatics on Aug. 15, 2026. Photo: Screenshot

An Israeli high school student was stripped of his gold medal at an international computer science competition in Uzbekistan and had his name removed from the official rankings after he displayed an Israeli flag in defiance of competition rules.

The incident took place at the 2026 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), where 12th grader Yotam Budnik, from the city of Rehovot in central Israel, won gold. The Olympiad has restricted students from Israel, Russia, and Belarus from competing under their national flag since 2024, according to Israel’s national broadcaster Kan. The Israeli students participated independently this year under “Team IOI” and financed their participation with external funding.

At the competition’s closing and award ceremony on Saturday, Budnik was called on stage to receive his gold medal along with the other winners. After the gold medal necklace was placed around his neck, Budnik pulled a flag of Israel out of his pants pocket and draped it across his shoulders, ignoring the IOI restriction against Israeli flags.

Kan reported that immediately after the ceremony, IOI organizers asked Budnik to return his gold medal and claimed he violated the competition’s rules. When Budnik refused to give back the medal, he was disqualified and his official recognition was revoked.

“When they tried to take the medal from me, I didn’t agree, so I still have it. They only denied me the certificate and the ranking on the website,” Budnik told Kan. “The achievement is mine and my own right, their official disqualification doesn’t mean much.”

“The law that prevents me from waving the flag is based solely on politics, and I thought it had no place in a scientific competition,” he added.