Bruhat Soma, a seventh grader from Florida, claimed the US National Spelling Bee champion title, a Scripps Cup trophy, and a check for $50,000 after correctly spelling a 90-second spell off against the second runners-up 12-year-old Faizan Zaki from Texas.
12-year-old Bruhat spelled 29 words correctly in the tiebreaker, beating Zaki by nine, to win the title on Thursday night. His winning word was "abseil," meaning "a descent in mountaineering using a rope looped over a projection above."
The Scripps National Spelling Bee attracted 11 million contestants from around the world, and Soma emerged as one of the most confident finalists.
He is the 28th Indian-American to have held the title. The 12-year-old beat 228 other competitors, including 7 finalists on Thursday night.
Bruhat previously competed in 2022 (tied for 163rd place) and 2023 (tied for 74th place).
According to his profile, Bruhat is a multifaceted person with many interests and hobbies. He loves to play and watch basketball, and his favorite player is LeBron James. He also likes to play badminton and Ping-Pong. Bruhat also has a passion for music, playing snare drum in his middle school band. He is an avid reader who will devour any book on which he can get his hands.
The champions' parents and sisters were also present at the event and said that they were very proud of their son's accomplishment. Bruhat mother also shared that her son has a sharp memory and has memorized 80 percent of the Bhagwat Gita.
