Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, California, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee after a tense final spell-off against Ishaan Gupta, a 12-year-old from Jersey City, New Jersey. The eighth grader secured the title after spelling 32 words correctly in 90 seconds, while Ishaan managed 25 in the same time, in a contest that stretched across 18 rounds over three days, as the AP quoted from the competition coverage.

Many kids who've won the Scripps National Spelling Bee have taken a comprehensive approach to their preparation

Meet the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee finalists as they get ready to compete for the championship.