Media365
Indian-origin teenager Shrey Parikh has achieved what millions of young spellers dream of. The 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, California, won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 28 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. He defeated runner-up Ishaan Gupta in a dramatic spell-off finale. During the tie-breaker, Parikh correctly spelled 32 words in just 90 seconds. The performance set a new spell-off record and secured his place in the competition’s 101-year history. The victory was especially significant because it came in Parikh’s third appearance at the national competition, completing a journey that saw him finish 89th in 2022 and third in 2024 before finally claiming the championship.
Shrey Parikh’s spelling journey to win America’s biggest spelling contest
Shrey Parikh is a 14-year-old Indian-American student currently enrolled in eighth grade at Day Creek Intermediate School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, sponsored by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools. Far from being a one-dimensional academic, Shrey is known as a well-rounded individual with a rich set of interests. He is an accomplished musician who plays a remarkable range of instruments, including snare drum, bass drum, timpani, toms, break drum, triangle, glockenspiel, marimba, piano and ukulele.He is also a polyglot. From a young age, Shrey has spoken multiple languages, including three Indian dialects, reflecting his deep Indian-origin heritage. His principal at John L. Golden Elementary School, where Shrey studied before moving on, described him as “well-rounded in all subjects.”Shrey’s relationship with competitive spelling began remarkably early. As a fourth-grader at John L. Golden Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga, he won the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Spelling Bee, which earned him a spot at the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee, his very first appearance on the national stage. He tied for 89th place that year, a solid debut for a student so young.In 2024, Shrey returned and finished third, with Bruhat Soma taking the championship and Faizan Zaki finishing second. Shrey earned $12,500 in prize money. That result signalled he was firmly among the country’s elite young spellers.Then came a stunning setback. Shrey lost his school bee last year when he was battling a fever, failing to qualify for the national competition entirely. It was a bitter blow. He took six months off from spelling before reopening his Merriam-Webster dictionary.With 2026 being his final year of eligibility, competitors must not have advanced beyond eighth grade or be older than 15, Shrey approached the season with an all-or-nothing intensity. His coaching team included Sam Evans, who has tutored each of the past three champions; Sohum Sukhatankar, a co-champion himself in 2019; and Vijaya Ganesh, a longtime coach and the mother of a former speller.The 14-year-old works with three coaches, pays for word lists and study guides, and tries to learn every Greek and Latin root, every language pattern and every spelling bee-worthy word he can find. He also competes throughout the year in online bees that pit him against the country’s other top spellers. To prepare for the spelling bee, Shrey said he practised five hours each day.He arrived in Washington as one of the clear favourites, and he did not disappoint.
The 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee: The night in detail
The 2026 event comprised 247 participants from across the United States and its territories. After two preliminary rounds, the field was narrowed to eight finalists for the Thursday night showdown at DAR Constitution Hall.Sporting a business-casual look with a dark long-sleeve collared shirt, khakis and sneakers, the lanky Shrey strode to the microphone with a serious expression that instantly vanished when he heard his word from pronouncer Jacques Bailly and nodded vigorously, his tell that he knew the answer.The dreaded bell did not ring until the third round, which saw four contestants eliminated in a matter of minutes. By the end of the seventh round, only Parikh and Gupta were left. When both successfully spelled their words in the following round, the spell-off was triggered.
The spell-off: 90 seconds, 32 words, a record broken
The spell-off format, introduced in 2021, is as thrilling as it is ruthless. Each speller had 90 seconds to spell as many words as possible. As one participant competed, the other was sequestered with headphones on, unable to hear the words being read.Shrey was extraordinary. Parikh correctly spelled 32 out of 35 words attempted in 90 seconds to win the title and beat the previous spell-off record set in 2024 by Bruhat Soma, who spelled 29 out of 30 words correctly. Parikh crushed 32 words to Gupta’s 25, ending on “cashaw”, a type of plant, and setting a new spell-off record.It was only the third time a spell-off had decided the spelling bee since the format was introduced. Harini Logan won the first spell-off in 2022 by spelling 22 words in 90 seconds, while Bruhat Soma won in 2024 with 29.Scripps later announced that the championship word was “bromocriptine”, a polypeptide alkaloid derived from ergot that mimics the activity of dopamine.
The word that tested him most
For all his composure, one word gave Shrey pause during the finals: “Bhubaneswar”, the capital city of the Indian state of Odisha.“I was 99% sure it had a ‘B,’ but doubt always creeps into your head, especially in the moment,” he said. “I knew I just had to stick with my gut and stick with my instincts on that word.”He spelled it correctly and moved on.
His reaction: Joy, relief and redemption
“Right now I’m probably the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m just so happy and relieved, and just such a flood of emotions,” Shrey said after the win.“At my school bee last year, I was really dejected and just very upset. It didn’t even sink in until the next day. I had a really tough time, but I’m glad I was able to bounce back.”On the spell-off itself, Shrey was remarkably composed.“Spelling fast is what I do every day,” he said while holding the Scripps Cup. “A spell-off just came naturally.”He described the final round as feeling like “just another day of spelling.”Upon hearing the announcement confirming his victory, Shrey immediately turned and shook Gupta’s hand.
Prizes and recognition
As the 2026 champion, Shrey takes home an impressive haul. He received $52,500 in prize money, along with reference works from Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster, a custom trophy and commemorative medal, and $1,000 in flight credits from Delta Air Lines.He also earned an astronaut meet-and-greet at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. A trip to Universal Orlando Resort theme parks rounded out the prize package.Although this was the 98th bee, Shrey became the 111th champion because the competition has produced multiple co-champions over the years, including an eight-way tie in 2019.
A historic tradition of Indian-origin champions
Shrey’s victory continues a remarkable trend of Indian-American students excelling at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.Recent champions of Indian origin include Faizan Zaki (2025), Bruhat Soma (2024), Dev Shah (2023) and Harini Logan (2022), among many others. Notably, runner-up Ishaan Gupta is also of Indian origin, meaning both finalists this year traced their roots to the Indian subcontinent.For the first time in the bee’s history, second- and third-place finishers from the same year later went on to win championships. Faizan Zaki won in 2025 after finishing second in 2024, while Shrey Parikh won in 2026 after finishing third that same year.
More than a speller
What makes Shrey Parikh’s story compelling is not just the trophy. It is the resilience, the fever that cost him a chance to qualify, the months away from spelling and the determination to return stronger. It is the discipline of five hours of daily practice and a coaching team assembled for one final shot at glory.It is also the calm of a teenager who broke a national record and then described the achievement as “just another day of spelling.”As the 111th Scripps National Spelling Bee champion, Shrey Parikh is already part of American educational history. For a 14-year-old who once walked away from a school bee in tears, however, this moment represents something even bigger. It is proof of what can happen when talent meets persistence.
