Bruhat Soma displayed a head-spinning level of brilliance in the "spell-off" of this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee, nailing 29 words with not one mistake. After he won, his family joined him on stage.
Are you smarter than a 12-year-old? Chances are, you aren’t a better speller than the 12-year-old who was just crowned the victor of this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The context came down to two children who faced off in a “spell-off,” the second time in spelling bee’s history that the competition had ever come to such a lightning round. The goal was to spell correctly as many words as was possible in 90 seconds.
Bruhat Soma displayed a head-spinning level of brilliance in the "spell-off," nailing 29 words with not one mistake. After he won, his family joined him on stage.
“I feel really happy, because I’ve been working so hard for the past year,” Bruhat tells Inside Edition.
The preteen, who hails from St. Petersburg, Florida, had gone to great lengths to ensure he was as prepared as possible for the spelling bee.
“My dad would create a list of 30 words, and I’d try to spell them as fast as I could in 90 seconds,” he says.
But Bruhat also prioritizes having fun, as any kid his age should.
“I like to play basketball,” he says.
Bruhat’s winning word in the spelling bee was "abseil," which means "a descent in mountaineering by means of a rope looped over a projection above." He represented the Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund in the spelling bee. As this year’s champion, Bruhat will receive a trophy and more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.
