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They made it tougher this year, introducing words derived from trickier and more obscure languages like Irish Gaelic, Maori and Mayan, and forced them to spell three times as many words as in years past, nonetheless in the end Jairam Hathwar, 13, and Nihar Janga, 11, clinched the title of co-champions of the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
It was a roller coaster finish for the two competitors, who made it to the top May 26 at the 89th Scripps National Spelling Bee, from among more than 280 spellers, continuing a remarkable run of success for Indian-American spellers that began in 1999 with Nupur Lala’s victory. The competition was held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
In the 39th round, Hathwar, a resident of Painted Post, New York, correctly spelled “Feldenkrais,” a medical term used for a system of aided body movements to increase bodily awareness and ease tension.
Janga, who is from Austin, Texas, immediately followed by spelling “gesellschaft,” which means a rationally developed mechanistic type of social relationship characterized by impersonally contracted associations between persons.
With these two correct spellings, the Scripps National Spelling Bee declared two co-champions, an occurrence for the third year in a row, instead of a solo champion.
Hathwar misspelled two words, but both times Nihar followed up with a miss, and the bee continued. The final two words were the crowning achievement of an impressive performance. Hathwar and Janga tackled every difficult word and lasted through all 39 rounds, including 24 rounds of head-to-head competition.
“I’m just speechless. I can’t say anything,” Janga said as he hoisted the trophy. “I mean, I’m only in fifth grade.”
This was Janga’s first time participating in the National Finals, and Hathwar’s second time. Hathwar’s brother Sriram Hathwar was a co-champion in 2014.
Rich Boehne, chairman, president and CEO of The E.W. Scripps Company, declared Hathwar and Janga co-champions and awarded them engraved championship trophies.
“Hathwar and Janga both proved their depth of knowledge of root words and word origins to master round after round of some of the most challenging words in the English language,” Boehne said. “The entire week was a showcase of very talented students who have dedicated so much time and effort to this skill. Scripps commends their performance,” he said.
Hathwar represented Corning Rotary Club in Corning, New York, in this year’s competition. He is a 7th-grade student at The Alternative School for Math and Science. Janga represented Houston Public Media in Houston, Texas, in this year’s competition. He is a 5th-grade student at River Ridge Elementary School.
Another Indian-American, Snehaa Kumar, 13, of Folsom, California, finished third.
The two champions have become close friends over the past year. According to ESPN, Janga celebrated the win by imitating the touchdown dance of his favorite athlete, Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, who sent a tweet congratulating the young speller. Jairam, who is fan of Jordan Spieth, took inspiration from the professional golfer, particularly his ability to bounce back after bad shots.
Besides being a golf fan, Jairam follows politics and elections devoutly. He also travels to India annually during the summer, and this year he is looking forward to seeing Mount Everest. At school, Jairam is especially interested in math and social studies. He hopes to attend Harvard University to study medicine.
Nihar loves playing football with his best friends and playing video games — especially his favorite, Batman: Arkham City. Nihar likes movies that motivate him to become “a beneficially influential citizen.” In the future, Nihar aspires to be a neurosurgeon developing many cures for serious brain disorders.
Each of the two champions will receive a trophy and $45,000 in cash and prizes. Hathwar and Janga began a whirlwind victory tour May 27, with numerous national networks and publications, entertainment programs and digital media platforms, including “Good Morning America,” “Today Show,” “Wall Street Journal,” “Live with Kelly,” “CNN” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live. For the first time ever, the co-champions will travel to Wall Street to ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange June 1.
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