Washington DC – California teenager Shrey Parikh's confident nod never faltered as he methodically spelled his way to win the US national spelling bee on Thursday. Even inscrutable words like "hwyl," "potto," or "pluchea" didn't faze the 14-year-old.
2026 was Parikh's third time as a finalist at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Over the course of three days at Washington's Constitution Hall, the teen from Rancho Cucamonga beat out 247 other contestants in the competition.
Underneath his calm demeanor, Parikh said he had worried early on in the contest, "because I knew the word, but, you know, when you're on stage, you always kind of doubt yourself, so I'm glad I just stuck with my gut and got it right."
This year, the contest went into a spell-off, where the final two contestants spelled out as many words as they could in 90 seconds.
How did Spelling Bee champion Shrey Parikh do at the spell-off?
Parikh correctly spelled 32 words in the allotted time, beating the 25 words spelled by Ishaan Gupta of New Jersey City, who took second place.
When asked if he prepared for the speed test, Parikh said, "You know, spelling fast is what I do every day, so you know, a spell-off just kind of came naturally, and it was just like another day of spelling."
Parikh isn't going home with just the Scripps Cup trophy, adorned with flowers and bumblebees. As the winner, he takes home $50,000 in cash, as well as prizes from Delta Airlines, Encyclopedia Britannica, and Merriam-Webster. Runners-up win smaller cash and prize packages.
Children across the country have participated in spelling bees with the hopes of making it to the national contest since 1925, according to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.