13-year-old Indian-American student Faizan Zaki has won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, considered America’s toughest competition. He won the title by correctly pronouncing the French word ‘eclaircissement’.
Éclairsissement is a French word that means to make something clear or understandable. Faizan finished second in the competition last year. He then lost to Bruhat Soma in a tiebreaker. Faizan is the fifth contestant to win the title the second year after finishing runner-up. This is the first time since Sean Conley in 2001.
Students from primary and secondary schools participate in ‘Spelling Bee’. This is a competition involving the correct spelling of words.
Faizan has received a prize money of $52,500 (about Rs. 45 lakh). Last year, he won $25,000 (Rs. 21.29 lakh), taking his total prize money to $77,500 (Rs. 66.31 lakh).
Ultimately, the competition was between three people – Faizan, 11-year-old Sarva Dharavan and 14-year-old Sarvadanya Kadam. After another round, only Faizan and Sarvadanya remained. After this, Faizan correctly spelled the word ‘Eclairagessment’ and won. As soon as the spell was correct, he clapped happily and fell on the stage. This time, Faizan cast correct spells continuously for 21 rounds and won.
