Spelling Bee Champ Reveals Word He Was Most Worried About

Kevin LamarqueShrey Parikh, 14, dominated the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee, beating out 246 qualified participants in this year’s tournament. The California resident flew to Washington, D.C., to compete after coming up short every year since 2022. In his last year of age eligibility, Parikh’s performance was monumental. He beat runner-up Ishaan Gupta, 12, with a whopping 32 words spelled correctly in 90 seconds in the competition’s third-ever spell-off, claiming his victory. He expressed feeling nervous— sometimes even shaking on stage—but ultimately sticking to his gut throughout the competition. “I just reminded myself that I needed to trust my instincts,” the champion said. The word that made Parikh the most nervous was Bhubaneswar, an ancient eastern Indian city. When he made it to the spell-off final round, he knew he had a solid chance at taking home the title. “Spelling fast is what I do every day, so you know the spell-off kind of came naturally, and it was just another day of spelling,” he said. Once practicing his spelling five hours a day, Parikh now looks forward to allocating his newfound free time to the spelling community through coaching and participating in math competitions.Read it at The Washington PostRead more at The Daily Beast.