Florida 12-Year-Old Wins National Spelling Bee [VIDEO]

USA Today reports:

Bruhat Soma entered the 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee with three smaller spelling bee victories already under his belt in 2024, and the 12-year-old from St. Petersburg, Florida, won the big prize Thursday by defeating fellow 12-year-old Faizan Zaki in a spell-off.

“My heart was pumping so fast when I realized I won,” Soma said. “I had a good feeling I would win because I did pretty good, but yeah, you never know. I still couldn’t absorb the moment yet.”

With organizers calling for a spell-off to determine a winner following 14 rounds over three days at the national championships, Soma spelled 29 words correctly in a 90-second span to best Zaki, who recorded 20 correct words.

NPR reports:

Soma bested the competition Thursday with his spelling of “abseil,” a word used to describe descending a vertical surface area with a rope attached to one’s body. “At just 12 years old, Bruhat impressed with his display of knowledge and composure,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said.

Soma will receive $50,000 in cash from Scripps, a medal and a trophy, among several other prizes. Faizan Zaki of Texas came in second place and won $25,000, while Shrey Parikh and Ananya Prassanna, of California and North Carolina, respectively, tied for third place. They will receive $12,500 each.

Watch the final lightning round below. I’m guessing that like me, you’ve not even heard of any those words.