California 8th Grader Spells 32 Words in 90 Seconds to Win Bee

Imagine spelling words like "cywyddau" and "bromocriptine" under pressure, with thousands watching. Shrey Parikh just did that 32 times in a row without breaking a sweat.

The 14-year-old eighth grader from Rancho Cucamonga, California won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee after an intense three-day competition. In the final rapid-fire "spell-off," he correctly spelled 32 words in just 90 seconds, breaking the competition record and beating 12-year-old Ishaan Gupta from Jersey City, who spelled 25 words correctly.

This victory tastes even sweeter for Parikh because of what happened last year. He couldn't compete in 2025 due to illness after placing third in 2024 and 89th in 2022. Instead of giving up, he doubled down.

For an entire year, Parikh practiced about five hours every single day. His secret weapon? Typing out words rather than just reading them. "I prepared mostly by typing, so usually that involved trying to get through as many words as I could in a day," he told Good Morning America.

That strategy paid off in the spell-off format, where speed matters as much as accuracy. While most people have never heard words like "torrone," "enthymeme," or "émeute," Parikh rattled them off like he was ordering coffee. His winning word was "bromocriptine," a biology term for a drug used to treat Parkinson's disease.

His fourth-grade teacher, Liza Chu, watched the competition with pride. "Shrey was born a genius," she told KTLA. "But back in 4th Grade when we started this, I never would have thought we would have come to this point."

Why This Inspires

What makes Parikh's story remarkable isn't just his incredible memory or his ability to spell Welsh poetry terms. It's what he did when things went wrong. When illness derailed his 2025 dreams, he didn't quit or blame bad luck. He practiced harder, refined his method, and came back stronger.

"I'm just so glad that I didn't give up when everything was not good last year," Parikh said. "I'm glad I saw it through to the end and had perseverance and kept going because it all paid off."

Now Parikh gets to enjoy $52,000 in cash, reference books, an astronaut meet-and-greet at Kennedy Space Center, and flight credits. But maybe the best prize is getting his life back. He's looking forward to spending more time on tennis and math competitions.

His advice for future competitors captures everything: "Just keep trying. Trying is the best thing you can do, and it's the most important thing you can do."