Houston: Harini Logan, a 14-year-old Indian-American eighth-grader from Texas, barely took a breath as she correctly spelled 22 words during a marathon, first-of-its-kind 90-second spell-off to win the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee, beating Vikram Raju in the prestigious contest where children of Indian origin have ruled the roost.
Logan, who took home the USD 50,000 cash prize and Scripps Cup trophy on top of awards from Merriam-Webster and Encyclopedia Britannica, was declared champion after she was reinstated by judges in the final round.
She spelled 22 out of 26 words correctly, while Raju, a 12-year-old boy from Denver, got 15 out of 19 words right during the first-of-its-kind spell-off, a format that tested the contestants on how many words they could correctly spell within 90 seconds.
The final two competitors had trouble deciphering their words between rounds 13 and 18. At that point, judges opted to institute the first spell-off, 90 seconds to spell as many words as possible correctly.
Vihaan Sibal, a 13-year-old from Texas, finished third while Saharsh Vuppala, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Washington, was fourth. “Just so surreal, it’s my fourth time at the Bee. This is such a dream, this is my fourth bee and I'm just so overwhelmed,” said Logan on stage holding the trophy.
“Harini is an Indian American, resuming a trend that has persisted for two decades - 21 of the past 23 champions have had South Asian heritage.” The National Spelling Bee was launched in 1925.
