May 29 (UPI) — A 14-year-old from San Bernardino, Calif., has won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee, which came down to a dramatic spell-off between Shrey Parikh and eventual second-place finisher, 12-year-old Jersey City, N.J., student Ishaan Gupta.
Parikh correctly spelled an impressive 32 of 35 words in the 90-second time limit to Gupta’s 25 of 29 words to win the spell-off and the coveted spelling title.
The California teen was all smiles as he was presented with the Scripps Cup by Scripps President and CEO Adam Symson. He was also awarded more than $50,000 and a trip to Universal Orlando Resort.
His 32nd correctly spelled and winning word during the spell-off was “bromocriptine,” which is defined, according to Scripps, as “a polypeptide alkaloid that is a derivative of ergot and mimics the activity of dopamine.”
Officials called the spell-off after no winner was crowned once the field of 247 spellers between the ages of 9 and 15 had been whittled down to just Parikh and Gupta over the three-day competition.
It was only the third time there has been a spell-off since the time-saving mechanism was instituted in 2021. Parikh’s 32 words set a new record, besting the 29 correctly spelled words by Bruhat Soma in 2024.
“It’s not something that I explicitly practiced for a lot,” Parikh said from the stage after being crowned the spelling bee victor and asked if he had prepared for such an event.
“Spelling fast is what I do every day, so a spell-off just kind of came naturally and it was just like another day of spelling for me.”
Symson said Parikh displayed “remarkable poise, focus and skill” while under pressure during the competition.
“His performance is an incredible testament to the preparation and resilience it took to get here,” Symson said in a statement.
It was Parikh’s third time competing in the competition, after finishing tied for third in 2024 and tied for 89th place in 2022.
For finishing second, Gupta was awarded $25,000.
Eighteen rounds of spelling were conducted over the three days, in the iconic competition that was hosted at DAR Constitution Hall in the nation’s capital.
Launched in 1925, Scripps says its national spelling bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational program.