On Thursday, May 26 night, after what can be termed as a nail-biting, roller-coaster ride, Jairam Hathwar and Nihar Janga were declared co-champions.
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The world’s prestigious spelling bee contest title was clinched by 2 American-Indians, with one of them becoming the youngest victor. Finally, it came down to Jairam and Nihar.
At just 11-years-old, Nihar is the youngest victor in the bee on record, according to ESPN.
In a tough contest with some of the most obscure words ever to be used, two boys have been crowned champions of the US Scripps National Spelling Bee. “I mean, I’m only in fifth grade”.
“My mom. It’s just my mom”, he said.
The third-place finisher Snehaa Kumar of Folsom, California, also an Indian-American, received US$20,000.
In the final round, Jairam spelled “feldenkrais”, a method of education, leaving Nihar with “gesellschaft”, a type of social relationship.
Jairam attributed his success to his brother Sriram, who was 2014 co-champion.
“It was an old-fashioned spelling bee”, 1980 champion and current pronouncer Jacques Bailly said.
But the real victor of the day was the official Twitter account of the Spelling Bee who delivered a sick spelling burn to a troll.
The 10 finalists coming into the night ranged in age from 11 to 14.
Last year’s winners were Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, and Gokul Venkatachalam of Chesterfield, Mo. Jairam, meanwhile, took inspiration from golfer Jordan Spieth, particularly his ability to bounce back after bad shots.
He likes movies that motivate him to become “a beneficially influential citizen”.
Nihar says he wants to be a neurosurgeon curing brain disorders, according to his spelling bee profile.
On Tuesday, a preliminary exam was administered to all Bee participants.
It was the third straight year of double winners at the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
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Robert Rosenberg, the grandfather of speller Cooper Komatsu, competed in 1955, and Mira Dedhia’s mother, Lekshmi Nair, competed in 1988, 1989 and 1990.
