Blend ofmathematics +athlete. The term is a registered trademark of theMathCounts organization. The term entered pop culture from the moviesAmerican Pie (1999) andMean Girls (2004), as well as being featured in the short-lived cult TV seriesFreaks and Geeks.
Mathletes was the name of a US national organization in the 1970s that sponsored high school mathematics competitions ("Mathletes") and junior high school competitions ("Junior Mathletes") between school teams known as "Math Teams". A team's news and results could be covered either under Sports (because it was a team competition) or Activities.
mathlete (pluralmathletes)