I am very curious to know why some top IOI/IMO students don’t go into research which has arguably more (mathematical) problem solving than software engineering

Theoretical Computer Science or some other research area has a much more significant component of problem solving which I would assume would attract them over software engineering. Being a successful software engineer does require good problem solving skills but other factors like good coding practises, being a good team player, understanding industry and user requirements are much more important, research also does require these things but I believe especially in theoretical areas problem solving is much more emphasized upon.

This question is inspired by the action of people like Adam Angelo (Red on Topcoder and Quora CEO) and Keshav Dhandhania.