Yes, 2 kids won the Scripps National Spelling Bee
Ansun and Sriram are the first co-champions since 1962!
Indeed. Thirteen-year-old Ansun Sujoe and 14-year-old Sriram Hathwar were co-champions.
How?
Once the Bee gets down to two or three contestants, the contest switches to a list of 25 final words. If the contestants make it through all 25 words (i.e. no round ends with exactly one person having answered correctly), whoever remains is a co-champion. If Ansun had missed “feuilleton” at the end, Sriram would have had the opportunity to win on his own.
But Ansun wasn’t gonna miss that. Ansun’s a beast.
Do ties happen often?
Nope, the Bee hadn’t had co-champions since 1962. Oddly, there were co-champions before that in 1950 and 1957. I’m not sure if that is because the rules were different, because the words easier, or just a coincidence.
They need to fix this. Ties are unacceptable.
Well, spelling contestants are, as Sriram put it, battling the dictionary, not each other. So it’s really no less of a trium--
Okay, what do you recommend?
TRIAL BY COMBAT. BATTLE TO THE DEEEEEEEEATH.
Uh, okay. How’s this?
YESSSSSSSS BLOOOOOOOOOD
This is making me uncomfortable.
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