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5 months ago
23
A Florida whiz kid took home the title of America's best young speller after a tense tie-break that saw him rattle through a staggering 29 words in 90 seconds.
Bruhat Soma, 12, was crowned Scripps National Spelling Bee 2024 winner in Baltimore on Thursday after storming to victory by correctly spelling mind-boggling words including Hoofddorp and heautophany.
Nachschläge - a type of musical note - and ashwagandha - an herb used in medicine - also helped Soma to victory over runner-up Faizan Zaki, 12.
The spell-off was only the second in the event's 99-year history, and was viewed by millions as the brainiest students in the nation squared off for a $50,000 prize.
Bruhat Soma, 12, was crowned Scripps National Spelling Bee 2024 winner in Baltimore on Thursday by storming to victory in a tense spell-off
To make it to the final, eight students made it through eight do-or-die rounds of spelling that eliminated 244 contestants.
The first word of Thursday's rounds also led to the first finalist to be eliminated, as Rishabh Saha, 14, stumbled over the word 'desmotrope.'
Over the next few rounds, Kirsten Santos, 13, and Shrey Parikh, 12, were taken out of the competition by apophasis - raising an issue by pretending to not want to talk about it - and kanin - a type of boiled rice - respectively.
Zaki was able to make it to the spell-off by correctly spelling nicuri - a type of Brazilian palm tree - while Soma's spelling of Hoofddorp put him into the playoff.
Ananya Prassanna had a chance to join them in the spell-off, but she failed to get 'murrina' - a disease in Central America that takes out livestock - which she spelled as marina.
At the start of the playoff, the crowd reportedly chanted 'spell-off, spell-off!' as the two nervous contestants lined up behind a buzzer.
Each were given 90 seconds to spell as many words correctly as possible, with an incorrect answer not ending the timer as speed was just as important as accuracy.
Both contestants were given the same list of words in the same order, with the other sequestered away from the stage so they couldn't hear the words.
Runner up Faizan Zaki prays before his turn in the spell-off, where he rattled through an impressive 20 words in 90 seconds but fell short of the win
Both contestants shook hands as Soma (left) took the win over Zaki (right) with a record-setting 29 words in 90 seconds
A rain of confetti fell from the ceiling as Soma was crowned champion, with the 12-year-old Floridian appearing shocked when his name was read out
Bruhat's elated family joined Bruhat on stage, as his father described it as 'the proudest moment for the family'
Footage of Soma's record-setting 29 words - the previous record was 22 - saw the child prodigy sensationally spell out words most people have never even heard of.
He appeared to use his hands to mimic typing the letters on a keyboard as he did it, breezing through words including 'asarotum' - a Roman-style painted pavement - and scintillante - a musical direction.
Zaki was able to spell an impressive 20 words and while he fell short of the grand prize, he won a consolation runner's up trophy and $25,000.
A rain of confetti fell from the ceiling as Soma was crowned champion, with the 12-year-old Floridian appearing shocked when his name was read out.
'I can't describe it,' he said as he was handed the trophy. 'I'm still shaking.'
His elated family joined Bruhat on stage, as his father described it as 'the proudest moment for the family.'
English (US)