Fourteen-year-old Harini Logan of San Antonio, Texas, has won the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee after a first ever "spell-off" was required for a champion to be named in the extremely close competition.
Harini takes home $50,000 from Scripps, plus further cash prizes and reference works from Merriam-Webster and Encyclopaedia Britannica.
She beat Vikram Raju of Denver, Colorado, on Thursday after their neck-and-neck competition required a "spell-off" to decide the winner, a first in the history of the Bee. The second-place prize is $25,000.
The winning word, Scripps said, was “moorhen,” which means the female of the red grouse, because that was the one that moved her past Vikram.
They claimed the top spots in the competition that pitted spellers ages 7-15 from across the US and its territories, from as far away as Guam, for the annual Bee. This year's competition was held at National Harbour, Maryland, right outside Washington.
In the spell-off, each competitor had 90 seconds to spell as many words correctly as possible. Vikram went first and spelled 15 words correctly of the 19 he attempted.
Harini, who waited for her turn in a sound-proof area, went on to spell 21 words correctly of the 26 she attempted.
Both had the same list of words read to them, ringing a bell to signal they were ready to advance to the next word.
Most Bee contestants were middle-school age and all were required to test negative for Covid-19 to participate and were masked on stage except when actively competing.
Harini is a grade eight pupil at The Montessori School of San Antonio. She loves creative writing and plans to publish a book in high school. When she's not spelling, she plays piano, recorder and is learning the ukulele.
This was her fourth and final year as a Bee contender.
Last year, when Zaila Avant-garde correctly spelled "Murraya", a genus of plants, she became the first African American to win the prestigious competition that began in 1925.
Competitors this year included 105 girls, 128 boys and one speller who identifies as non-binary.
After 27 years of being broadcast live on the cable sports channel ESPN, this year's live show was moved to ION and Bounce, both networks owned by a Scripps subsidiary. The show's host was actor LeVar Burton.
In 2019, an eight-way tie included such mind-bending winning words as "erysipelas", a skin infection; "auslaut", the final sound in a word or syllable; "palama", webbing on the feet of aquatic birds; "pendeloque", a pear-shaped gemstone or glass pendant; "odylic", related to a hypothetical life force; "cernuous", drooping; "bougainvillea", a climbing plant; and "aiguillette", the braided ornament on military uniforms.
Agencies contributed to this report
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
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