14-year-old Shrey Parikh Wins 2026 Scripps Spelling Bee

Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, California, was crowned champion of the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night in Washington, D.C., after a decisive victory in a lightning-round tiebreaker. Parikh correctly spelled 32 words in a 90-second spell-off, defeating 12-year-old Ishaan Gupta of Jersey City, New Jersey, who spelled 25 words correctly. The winning word was “bromocriptine,” a polypeptide alkaloid that mimics the activity of dopamine.

The championship round was deadlocked after 18 rounds of competition, forcing the tiebreaker procedure. Parikh’s dominant performance in the rapid-fire spell-off turned a tense final into a one-sided conclusion. Upon hearing the announcement of his victory, he turned and shook his competitor’s hand. Third place went to Sarv Dharavane, a 12-year-old sixth-grader from Dunwoody, Georgia, for the second consecutive year.

Parikh arrived at the national competition as a favorite, having finished in third place in 2024. He experienced a setback last year when he was eliminated from his school bee while battling a fever. Since then, he has dominated the competitive spelling circuit, winning several major online...