Not one, two, but eight dictionary experts claimed the 92nd
Scripps National Spelling Bee championship title Thursday, after surviving 20 total rounds on a historic night.
The voice of the Scripps Bee,
Jacques Bailly, announced three hours into the final competition that everyone who nailed their 12th word of the night would share the honor, marking the first time more than two contestants won.
The winners were: Rishik Gandhasri, 13; Erin Howard, 14; Saketh Sundar, 13; Shruthika Padhy, 13; Sohum Sukhatankar, 13; Abhijay Kodali, 12; Christopher Serrao, 13; and Rohan Raja, 13.
Many brought veteran experience, as more than half of the 16 finalists competed in prime time in Maryland's Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center
last year. Bailey said Scripps ran out of words to challenge them.
Skills test:
Can you spell these 12 challenging words? Scripps National Spelling Bee finalists could
The competitors will each receive
$50,000 in cash, a Scripps trophy, reference books and trips to New York and Hollywood to appear on talk shows. Scripps named two winners as recently as 2016, but the competition hasn't recognized more than a two-way tie since it began in 1925.
The finalists, ages 12 to 14, beat out more than
546 other competitors. A couple qualified through the return of an
invitational program started in 2018, the RSVBee, which gave spellers a chance if they won their school bee or previously competed on the national stage.
