D-R-A-M-A-T-I-C

Spelling Bee Champ ‘Hyperventilating with Excitement’ After Win

Faizan Zaki captured the title Thursday on the famed competition’s 100th anniversary.

Scripps National Spelling Bee winner Faizan Zaki fell to the floor after capturing the title Thursday. He felt himself losing breath even before he finished spelling “éclaircissement,” meaning enlightenment, to win the competition. “Those last couple of letters, I was gasping for air,” the 13-year-old told ABC’s Good Morning America. “I was like hyperventilating with excitement.” He asked no questions about the word’s meaning or usage. The 2024 runner-up, Zaki said he had been putting in nearly 40 hours a week of studying for this year’s contest, which included looking through the dictionary for unfamiliar words and jotting them down. With this achievement behind him, the Texas teenager said he has his sights set on participating in the International Mathematical Olympiad, one of the 12 Science Olympiads. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the Scripps Spelling Bee.