Shruthika Padhy, 13, of Cherryhill, New Jersey, Erin Howard, 14, of Huntsville, Alabama, Rishik Gandhasri, 13, of San Jose, California, Christopher Serrao, 13, of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, Saketh Sundar, 13, Clarksville, Maryland, Sohum Sukhatankar, 13, of Dallas, Texas, Rohan Raja, 13, of Irving, Texas and Abhijay Kodali, 12, of Flower Mound, Texas celebrate their eight-way tie in the final round of the 92nd annual Scripps National Spelling Bee at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S., May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
(Reuters) – Eight young super spellers all tied, and all were crowned co-champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, in what competition officials said was a first for the event.
After a marathon session stretching into early Friday, each winner will receive a $50,000 prize and a trophy in the three-day event that started with 562 word whizzes from across the nation, U.S. territories and six other countries.
Officials say that while there have been co-champions in the past, there have never been eight.
“We’re throwing the dictionary at you, and, so far, you are showing the dictionary who’s boss,” the bee’s pronouncer, Jacques Bailly, told the eight still remaining after 18 rounds of competition.
The six boys and two girls range in age from 12 to 14 and hail from six states: Alabama, California, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Reporting by Lacey Johnson in Oxon, Maryland; Editing by Clarence Fernandez