A 12-year-old Bruhat Soma triumphed in the United States spelling bee by mastering words like “cricetine” and “indumentum.” The seventh-grade student from St. Petersburg, Florida, was overjoyed as vibrant confetti fell when he emerged victorious in the tiebreaker.
Bruhat Soma from Florida secured his victory by accurately spelling his last word, ‘abseil’,” stated the organizer, Scripps National Spelling Bee as announced on X.
Soma, who also participated in the last two yearly contests, is set to receive a $50,000 prize along with a championship trophy.
After his win, he said at a news conference, that he never expected it. The boy shared with reporters that there was just one word he didn’t know, but fortunately, it wasn’t his turn.
Soma managed to spell 29 words correctly in 90 seconds during the competition’s second-ever “Spell-off” tiebreaker, as reported by US media. This impressive performance led to him securing first place, with 12-year-old Faizan Zaki from Dallas, Texas, coming in second.
The young Soma impressively spelled 10 words correctly in the earlier rounds, which included “coulisse” – described as a backstage area – and the Dutch town of Hoofddorp.
Furthermore, Soma not only spelled words accurately but also provided the correct definitions for “troglodyte” – a primitive cave dweller – and “sine qua non” – something essential.
Since 1925, children have been participating in US classroom, school, and regional spelling bees with the aim of reaching the national competition, as mentioned by Scripps National Spelling Bee.
