Anamika Veeramani from Cleveland won first prize in the 83rd Scripps National Spelling Bee championship held from June 2, 2010 to June 4, 2010 at Grand Hyatt Hotel, Washington D.C. The 14-year-old Anamika Veeramani took first prize at the 83rd Scripps National Spelling Bee.A total of 274 spellers participated in the competition, 110 for the first time. The youngest contestant was 8-year-old Vanya Shivashankar, the sister of 2009 winner Kavya Shivashankar.
“Go Cavs!” Anamika said, shortly after accepting the winner’s trophy, which also comes with more than $40,000 in cash and prizes.
Anamika, who finished tied for fifth last year, became the third consecutive Indian-American champion, and the eighth the last 12 years. It’s a run that began when Nupur Lala won in 1999 and was featured in the documentary “Spellbound.”
In the largest field in the history of the competition, the spellers ranged in age from 8 to 15 years old, but 80% were between 12 and 14.
This year has already held one shocker. The 2009 second place finisher, Tim Ruiter, was eliminated in round four. He had been considered the favorite to win the 2010 competition.
There was a three-way tie for second among the 273 spellers who started the three-day competition Wednesday. Adrian Gunawan, 14, of Arlington Heights, Ill.; Elizabeth Platz, 13, of Shelbina, Mo.; and Shantanu Srivatsa, 13, of West Fargo, N.D., were all eliminated in the same round.
source: http://www.temptos.com
