Youth

12-year-old Bruhat Soma wins the U.S. National Spelling Bee

By Sama Marwan,

Bruhat Soma, a 12-year-old from St. Petersburg, Florida, clinched the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee title on May 30, 2024. The competition concluded with a 90-second tiebreaker round, during which Bruhat impressively spelled 29 words correctly, surpassing his closest competitor, Faizan Zaki, who spelled 20 words accurately.

The decisive word that secured Bruhat’s victory was “abseil,” a term describing the act of descending a vertical surface using a rope.

This achievement marks Bruhat’s second appearance in the national competition; he previously placed 163rd in 2022 and 74th in 2023. Representing the Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund, he received over $50,000 in prizes, including a $50,000 cash award from Scripps, along with additional cash and reference works from Merriam-Webster and Encyclopædia Britannica.

The 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee featured 245 participants aged 8 to 15, culminating in a final round with eight contestants. Due to the intense competition, a spell-off was introduced for the second time since 2021 to determine the winner.

Bruhat’s victory underscores his exceptional dedication and mastery of language, distinguishing him among the nation’s top young spellers.

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