HomeThe fourth time was the charm for spelling bee veteran Kavya Shivashankar, who won the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night in Washington with the correct spelling of “Laodicean,” which means lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics.
Wiping tears from her eyes after winning, Shivashankar was presented the champion’s trophy by Rich Boehre, president and CEO of the Scripps Company. Shivashankar will be awarded more than $40,000 in cash and prizes.
She is the first Kansan to win the title of champion.
This was Shivashankar’s fourth consecutive trip to the prime time finals of the spelling bee.
Tune in to “Good Morning America” Friday for an exclusive interview with champion Kavya Shivashankar.
Second-place speller Tim Ruiter of Virginia spelled out on “maecenas,” meaning a generous patron, especially of literature or art.
11 Spellers in Prime Time Showdown
The eleven spellers who advanced to the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s finals Thursday night all had two things in common: None of them read the dictionary in preparation for the national spotlight and they all wanted to win.
The evening unfolded over nine rounds and 55 words.
Word by word, 10 were eliminated with gentle dings and sympathetic applause, drifting from one side of the stage to the other, blinking back tears and disappointment in a kind of spellbound daze.