By: Ellie Zhang 1

On May 30, 2024, 12 year old Bruhat Soma was announced as the winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee Competition. Soma received a cash prize of $50,000 along with some other awards, while Faizan Faki placed second.

The event took place in the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The total time of the competition was approximately 2 hours. Each contestant had 1 minute and 30 seconds to spell as many words as given.

The winning word was “abseil,” the activity of going down a very steep slope while holding onto a rope attached, used in mountain sports.

“I was pretty confident that I had a chance at winning because I’ve been working so hard,” Bruhat explained. “And I really wanted to win. That’s why I practiced the spell-off so much.”

“When they first announced there was a spell-off, my heart was pumping so fast but then I realized – because I was practicing spell-offs for six months – I realized that, ‘Maybe I have a shot at winning,’”

By the end of the contest, Bruhat broke the tiebreaker by spelling 9 more words than his opponent during a lightning round. In 90 seconds, he scored 29 words, while Faizan scored 20.

“I’m really excited. It’s been my goal for this past year to win, and I’ve been working really hard,” Bruhat said while still on stage, clutching his trophy. “I really can’t describe it, I’m still shaking.”

After the winning announcement on stage with confetti raining, Bruhat comforted and shook hands with his friend who placed second.

His appearance on the Scripps National Spelling Bee Contest continued now to 4, as he had come to the contest for the past 3 years.

Bruhat’s 16-year-old coach, Sam Evans, would coach the top three winners in the 2024 spelling bee; including Bruhat, his friend Faizan Faki and Faizan’s friend Shrey.