A very impressive young woman.
A 14 year-old girl from Louisiana has won the US Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Zaila Avant-garde is the first African American contestant to win the competition, and the first Black winner since Jody-Anne Maxwell’s victory in 1998. Zaila is also the first person who is not of South Asian descent to win the prize since 2008.
The teenager will take home a prize fund of $50,000 (€42,000).
Zaila faced 11 competitors at the final round of the competition in Orlando, Florida. Her winning word was “murrya” which is a type of tree native to South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia.
In the joyous moment she realised she spelled the winning word, Zaila spun around and jumped up and down.
Zaila Avant-garde — an 8th grader from Louisiana — wins the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee 🐝
The final word she spelled correctly was "Murraya" #SpellingBee
🎥 @TSN_Sportspic.twitter.com/5qukAxKYC8
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 9, 2021
The Scripps National Spelling Bee celebrated her win on Twitter.
“It was the smile and twirls for us!” they wrote. “After tying for 370th place in 2019, #Speller133 Zaila Avant-garde wins the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
“Congrats to all our spellers. We’re proud of everyone’s poise and courage in facing the dictionary.”
It was the smile and twirls for us! After tying for 370th place in 2019, #Speller133 Zaila Avant-garde wins the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Congrats to all of our spellers. We're proud of everyone's poise and courage in facing the dictionary. #SpellingBee #TheBeeIsBack pic.twitter.com/wHfYeU4CNl
— Scripps National Spelling Bee (@ScrippsBee) July 9, 2021
On her route to victory she also had to spell “querimonious” (which means to be prone to complaint), “solindungulate” (an animal with an uncloven hoof).
Zaila spoke to the Times Picayune about her training regime: “For spelling, I usually try and do about 13,000 words [per day], and that usually takes about seven hours or so.
“We don’t let it go way too overboard of course. I’ve got school and basketball to do.
As well as being a talented speller, Zaila is a record-breaking basketball player. The teenager holds three world records for dribbling multiple basketballs at the same time.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee has been running since 1925. The prestigious competition was the subject of the Netflix documentary Spelling the Dream, which came out in 2020. The film follows four Indian-American children as they prepare for the Bee.
