How do you spell success? For 12-year-old Ananya Vinay, the answer is easy. It’s M-A-R-O-C-A-I-N. By spelling that word correctly, the sixth grader became the champion of the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee!
Almost 300 kids entered the 90th Scripps Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Maryland. They came from all 50 states and U.S. territories, such as Guam and Puerto Rico. The spellers — between the ages of 6 and 15 — started the big bee on Tuesday morning. By Thursday night, just 15 players were left.
“I need you to give me a word I know right now,” demanded 12-year-old Erin Howard. “Really.” The girl from Huntsville, Alabama, seemed surprised when she spelled apparentement. (That’s an alliance in politics.) Two rounds later, however, Erin was out. Alex Iyer from San Antonio, Texas, forgot the silent “E” at the end of savate (a form of French boxing). Off he went. Finally, it was down to two: Ananya from Fresno, California, and 14-year-old Rohan Rajeev from Edmond, Oklahoma.
For 45 minutes, Ananya and Rohan went back and forth in the final rounds. The two Indian-Americans had to spell some tough words! That includes cheiropompholyx (a skin disorder that affects the hands and feet), durchkomponiert (a type of song), and tchefuncte (an ancient Louisiana culture).
At last, Rohan made a mistake. He incorrectly spelled the word marram (a type of beach grass) as M-A-R-E-M. Ananya knew gifblaar (a shrub of Southern Africa that’s dangerous to livestock) and marocain (a heavy type of dress fabric made from silk or wool) and spelled them both correctly.
Ananya had spelled all 35 words right and was the winner! Confetti fell from the ceiling all around her, and the crowd cheered. Ananya’s dad ran to the stage to hug her, and soon her mom and brother joined them. The pre-teen won a huge trophy and a prize of $40,000. Ananya promised to split it with her 7-year-old brother. Then she said she’d save the rest for college.
“It’s like a dream come true,” Ananya said from the stage. “I’m so happy right now.” She sure has a way with words!
Updated June 2, 2017, 5:03 P.M. (ET)
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
