In a thrilling display of linguistic prowess, 12-year-old Bruhat Soma emerged victorious at the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee, taking home the grand prize of $50,000.
The seventh-grade student from St. Petersburg, Florida outpaced his fellow competitors, correctly spelling challenging words like “cricetine” and “indumentum” during the competition. Soma’s triumph was sealed when he accurately spelled the word “abseil” in the competition’s tiebreaker round.
“I never expected this,” an elated Soma told reporters after his win, as colorful confetti rained down around him. The young spelling sensation, who had competed in the past two national bees, expressed his disbelief at clinching the prestigious title.
According to the Scripps National Spelling Bee organization, Soma breezed through 29 words in just 90 seconds during the tiebreaker, edging out 12-year-old Faizan Zaki from Dallas, Texas, who placed second.
Soma’s road to victory was paved with other impressive feats, including correctly defining terms such as “troglodyte” and “sine qua non.” His mastery of both spelling and vocabulary proved to be the winning combination.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee has been a fixture in American classrooms, schools and regional competitions since 1925, providing a platform for young spelling enthusiasts to showcase their remarkable skills.
