Bruhat Soma, a 12-year-old speller from Tampa, Florida, was crowned champion of the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee after winning the competition’s second spell-off to date Thursday night.
The 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion is #Speller47 Bruhat Soma with 29 correct words. A BEEdazzling effort in our second-ever Spell-off by #Speller47 Bruhat Soma and #Speller207 Faizan Zaki, who correctly spelled 20 words in the Spell-off. #spellingbee pic.twitter.com/VKczNb0qmB
— Scripps National Spelling Bee (@ScrippsBee) May 31, 2024
Soma correctly spelled 29 out of 30 words attempted to earn the coveted champion title and beat the standing spell-off record set by Harini Logan in 2022. Logan spelled 22 out of 26 words correctly during the competition’s first-ever spell-off.
His championship word was “abseil”, which is defined as “descent in mountaineering by means of a rope looped over a projection above.”
Gaithersburg’s Su Hlaing was the top speller from Montgomery County advancing to the quarterfinals.
The 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee took place at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Competition began Tuesday with 245 spellers. Round-by-round results are available at spellingbee.com.
The champion receives:
- From Scripps: a $50,000 cash prize, commemorative medal and the Scripps Cup, the official championship trophy of the Scripps National Spelling Bee;
- From Merriam-Webster: a $2,500 cash prize and reference library from the Bee’s dictionary partner;
- From Encyclopædia Britannica: $400 of reference works, including a 1768 Encyclopædia Britannica Replica Set and a three-year membership to Britannica Online Premium;
- From SugarBee® Apple: $350 prize package including a SugarBee Apple gift basket and $250 gift card;
- From Scholastic: $1,000 Scholastic Dollars to be donated to the school of the champion’s choice in their honor.
Faizan Zaki of Allen, Texas, representing Dallas Sports Commission, placed second in the competition and will receive $25,000. He correctly spelled 20 of 25 words attempted in the spell-off.
Shrey Parikh of Rancho Cucamonga, California, representing San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, tied for third place in the competition and will receive $12,500.
Ananya Prassanna of Apex, North Carolina, representing Carolina Panthers, tied for third place in the competition and will receive $12,500.
If you missed watching the competition, a rebroadcast of the finals will be available on Scripps News on May 31 from 10 p.m. to midnight and again June 1 from midnight to 2 a.m. The Scripps Networks can be found free over-the-air as well as on cable, satellite and streaming platforms.
Photo courtesy Scripps National Spelling Bee
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