For the third year in a row, the National Spelling Bee ended in a tie.
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An Internet troll found out the hard way that the kids on stage aren’t the only people who can spell at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. She was representing Sauk Valley Media after winning the Lee-Ogle-Whiteside Regional Spelling Bee in February.
Snehaa Ganesh Kumar, 13, of Folsom, Calif., reacts to correctly spelling her word during the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md., Thursday, May 26, 2016.
The finals ended in a tie for the third consecutive year Thursday night, with Jairam Hathwar and Nihar Janga declared co-champions after a roller-coaster finish.
“I’m just speechless”, Janga said, according to a press release.
“Ornery” was the most common word used in Wyoming and not one but two states – Utah and Arkansas – were keen on learning how to spell “leprechaun”.
But the ads aired Thursday-feel-good spectacles featuring the kids’ advice to others for success, for spelling bees or other endeavors-were especially well executed.
After both children received the championship trophy, Janga said he had no words to describe what he felt.
“I feel like I should have been able to figure it out”, she said.
“When he won this spelling bee, it was such an inspiration for me to do it”.
Nihar said he didn’t feel pressure to become the youngest victor for two reasons. “I’m only in fifth grade”, Nihar said.
The 14 year-old from Ridge Church School in Accra, made history when she made it in the top 45 finals of the 2016 Scripps Spelling Bee competition.
The word was giallolino and the sentence was: “While painting a portrait for his shrine to Steph Curry, the artist used giallolino to help create the flawless hue for his Golden State Warriors jersey”. They may also get a chance to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to visit Washington, D.C. on June 6. When they both got their words right, the crowd burst into cheers.
To make the competition tougher, the bee derived words not only from Greek and Latin but trickier languages including Afrikaans, Danish, Irish, Mayan, and Maori.
Nihar then missed “ayacahuite”, a Mexican tree, giving Jairam new life. And he’s only 11 years old.
In a phone interview, Waterford said that, as a parent, the spelling bee was “extremely nerve-wracking to realize you can never be fully prepared for this kind of event”.
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On Tuesday, a preliminary exam was administered to all Bee participants.
