Jairam Jagadeesh Hathwar, 13, of Painted Post, N.Y., runs to high-five Nihar Saireddy Janga, 11, of Austin, Texas, foreground, after they were named the co-champions of the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md., Thursday, May 26, 2016. Jairam’s brother, Sriram, was the 2014 co-champion.
Advertisement
Nihar and Jairam’s parents are immigrants from southern India.
The two finalists at the Spelling Bee were so good at spelling that the Spelling Bee ran out of words for them.
“I’m just speechless. I can’t say anything”, Nihar said as he hoisted the trophy.
Jairam’s winning word was Feldenkrais, which is derived from a trademark and means a system of body movements intended to ease tension. The Folsom, California-native only lasted one round against Nihar and Jairam, spelling the word “usucapion” (a mode of acquiring a title to property) incorrectly.
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) – If not for his high-pitched voice, there would be no way to peg Nihar Janga as the youngest-ever victor of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. “I thought they would win”. Nihar and Jairam had to spell 24 words apiece before it was over. Most everyone believed the contest was over.
“I thought it was over”, Jairam said afterwards. “I was sad because I didn’t want it to end”. He also enjoys playing football with his best friends and playing video games – especially his favourite, Batman: Arkham City. Twice, Jairam missed a word, giving Nihar a chance to seal the title.
Nihar loves spelling, and he puts a lot of determination and dedication into learning new words.
Once the championship rounds started, commerical breaks ended and the spellers alternated spots at the microphone for almost an hour.
“I felt nervous the entire time, but I focused on the words”, Nihar said.
Henrico County’s spelling hero TejasMuthusamy, a 7th grader at Moody Middle School, made it to the spelling bee for his third time this year.
The runner up, eighth grader Snehaa Ganesh Kumar, tagged out of the competition after spelling “usucapion” incorrectly, leaving the boys to face one another head-to-head.
Before receiving his first word to spell in the preliminary round, Padua greeted the official pronouncer, Jacques Bailly, with “hafa adai”, Guam’s traditional greeting.
The grandfather of finalist Cooper Komatsu competed in 1955. He was the second speller eliminated in primetime Thursday.
According to Bee officials, 11 million people participated in the Bee at local and qualifying levels.
Advertisement
The last two spellers had to get through three times as many words as in years past, but it didn’t seem to work as they’d hope – this was the third consecutive year the bee ended in a tie. On Wednesday, all 284 spellers took the main stage at the Gaylord National Resort Maryland Ballroom to spell.
