Problem

Source: Bulgarian Winter Tournament 2024 11.4

Tags: combinatorics



Let $n, k$ be positive integers with $k \geq 3$. The edges of of a complete graph $K_n$ are colored in $k$ colors, such that for any color $i$ and any two vertices, there exists a path between them, consisting only of edges in color $i$. Prove that there exist three vertices $A, B, C$ of $K_n$, such that $AB, BC$ and $CA$ are all distinctly colored.