Indian-origin teen Shrey Parikh is living the dream of millions of young spellers. The 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee championship on May 28 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. He defeated runner-up Ishaan Gupta in a dramatic final. In the decider, Parikh spelled 32 words correctly in just 90 seconds. The performance set a new knockout record and cemented his place in the game’s 101-year history. The win was significant as it was Parikh’s third national competition, having finished 89th in 2022 and third in 2024, en route to the title.
Shrey Parikh is a 14-year-old Indian-American student currently in eighth grade at Day Creek Middle School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, which is funded by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools. Schley was by no means a one-dimensional scholar, but a well-rounded individual with a wealth of interests. He is an accomplished musician who plays a variety of instruments including snare drum, bass drum, timpani, toms, breakers, triangle, glockenspiel, marimba, piano, and ukulele.He is also multilingual. Shrey grew up speaking multiple languages, including three Indian dialects, reflecting his deep Indian roots. Schrey attended John L. Golden Elementary School before transferring, where the principal described him as “well-rounded in all subjects.”Schley’s relationship with the spelling bee began early. As a fourth-grader at John L. Golden Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga, he won the San Bernardino County Superintendent’s Spelling Bee, which earned him a spot in the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee, his first time on the national stage. He finished tied for 89th that year, which was a good debut for such a young student.In 2024, Shrey returned and finished third with Bruhat Soma Won the title, Faizan Zaki finished second. Shrey won $12,500. The results place him firmly among the nation’s elite young spellers.Then a stunning setback occurred. Schrey lost his school bee last year to a fever and completely failed to qualify for the national competition. This is a heavy blow. He stopped spelling for six months before reopening his Merriam-Webster dictionary.With 2026 being his last year of eligibility and competitors no longer in eighth grade or 15 years old, Shrey approached the season with an all-or-nothing intensity. His coaching staff includes Sam Evanswho has coached the past three champions; Sohum Sukhatankar, the 2019 co-champion; and Vijaya Ganesh, a long-time coach and the mother of a former speller.The 14-year-old worked with three coaches, paid for word lists and study guides, and worked hard to learn every Greek and Latin root word, every language pattern and every spelling bee-worthy word he could find. He also competes in online bees throughout the year against other top spellers across the country. Schrey said he practices five hours a day to prepare for the spelling bee.He arrived in Washington as one of the clear favorites, and he didn’t disappoint.
The 2026 event had 247 participants from across the United States and its territories. After two preliminary rounds, the list of finalists was narrowed to eight on Thursday evening in the DAR Constitution Hall.The lanky Schrey, dressed business casual in a dark long-sleeved collared shirt, khakis and sneakers, strode to the microphone, his serious expression disappearing as soon as he heard the speaker, Jacques Bailey, speak, and nodded vigorously to show he knew the answer.The dreaded bell didn’t sound until the third round, with four contestants eliminated within minutes. By the end of the seventh round, only Parikh and Gupta were left. When both men successfully spell their word in the next round, the spelling bee is triggered.
The competitive format introduced in 2021 is both exciting and brutal. Each speller has 90 seconds to spell as many words as possible. While one participant competed, the other participant was isolated with headphones on and could not hear the text being read.Shree is extraordinary. Parikh spelled 32 out of 35 words correctly in 90 seconds to win the title and beat the previous spelling record set by Bruhat Soma in 2024, who spelled 29 out of 30 words correctly. Parikh set a new spelling record with 32 words, beating Gupta’s 25 words ending in “cashaw” (a plant).This is only the third time a spelling bee has been decided since the format’s inception. Harini Logan won the first spelling bee in 2022 by spelling 22 words in 90 seconds, while Bruhat Soma won in 2024 with 29 seconds.Scripps later announced that the winning word was “bromocriptine,” a peptide alkaloid derived from ergot that mimics the activity of dopamine.
Despite his calm performance, one word gave Shree pause during the final: “Bhubaneswar,” the capital of the Indian state of Odisha.“I’m 99 percent sure it has a ‘B,’ but doubt always creeps into your mind, especially in the moment,” he said. “I knew I had to stick to my gut, stick to my gut feeling about the word.”He spelled it correctly and moved on.
“Right now I’m probably the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I’m just really happy and relieved and overwhelmed with emotions,” Schrey said after the win.“Last year at my school bee, I was really down, really upset. I didn’t completely calm down until the next day. I had a really tough time, but I’m glad I was able to bounce back.”As far as the game itself goes, Schrey was remarkably composed.“Speed spelling is something I do every day,” he said while holding the Scripps Cup. “The spell just happened naturally.”He described the final round as feeling like “just another spelling day.”Upon hearing the news of the victory, Shree immediately turned around and shook hands with Gupta.
As the 2026 champion, Shrey has an impressive record. He received a $52,500 bonus, as well as reference books from Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a custom trophy and commemorative medal, and a $1,000 flight credit from Delta Air Lines.He also got a chance to meet the astronauts at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The prize also includes a trip to Universal Orlando theme park.Although this is the 98th Bee, Shrey becomes the 111th winner as the event has produced multiple co-champions over the years, including eight ties in 2019.
Schrey’s win continues a notable trend of Indian-American students doing well in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.Recent champions of Indian origin include Faizan Zaki (2025), Bruhat Soma (2024), Dev Shah (2023) and Harini Logan (2022), among others. Notably, runner-up Ishaan Gupta is also of Indian origin, meaning both of this year’s finalists can trace their roots to the Indian subcontinent.The second and third place finishers of the same year then went on to win the title, for the first time in Bee history. Faizan Zaki won in 2025 after finishing second in 2024, while Shrey Parikh won in 2026 after finishing third in the same year.
Shrey Parikh’s story is fascinating beyond just the trophies. It was resilience, a fever that cost him a chance to qualify, months away from spelling, and an even stronger determination to return. It’s five hours a day of training and the discipline of a coaching team coming together to make one last push for glory.It was also the calm of a teenager who broke a national record and then described the achievement as “just another day of spells”.As the winner of the 111th Scripps National Spelling Bee, Shrey Parikh has become a part of American educational history. Yet for a 14-year-old who once walked away from a school bee in tears, the moment represented something much more important. This is a testament to what happens when talent meets perseverance.
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