Indian Americans did it again as Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old speller from San Bernardino, California, won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee following the third Spell-off in Bee history.
In the final test of a six-year competitive spelling career marked by triumph and heartbreak, he correctly spelled 32 words in 90 seconds, a record for the shootout-style finish that was first used in 2022.
Shrey’s winning word was “bromocriptine,” which is “a polypeptide alkaloid that is a derivative of ergot and mimics the activity of dopamine.”
With his victory Thursday night, Shrey becomes the 31st of the past 37 champions with Indian heritage, a run that began with Nupur Lala’s victory in 1999.
Scripps officials presented Shrey with the iconic trophy, a ceramic piece made by Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He also gets $52,500 in cash and a package of other prizes.
Read: Faizan Zaki wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee (May 30, 2025)
“Right now I’m probably the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m just so happy and relieved, and just such a flood of emotions,” Shrey said. “At my school bee last year, I was really dejected and just very upset. It didn’t even sink in until the next day. I had a really tough time, but I’m glad I was able to bounce back.”
“When it comes to competition, he goes all the way,” said his father, Guarav Parikh.
The teenager previously competed in the National Bee in 2024, when he tied for third place, and 2022 when he tied for 89th place, according to Scripps.
His favorite word is “muntjac,” which is “any of a genus of small deer of southeastern Asia.” The speller plays a myriad of instruments, including snare drum, bass drum, timpani, toms, break drum, triangle, glockenspiel and marimba.
To prepare for the spelling bee, Shrey said he practiced five hours each day. He told reporters his “amazing community” was key in helping him snag the winning title.
“They really motivated me and pushed me to become better and I’m really just thankful for that,” Shrey said, shouting out his family and coaches.
He qualified for the California state Mathcounts this year, a mathematics “bee” style contest for middle school students.
Nine finalists competed for the chance to call themselves the spelling champion at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, on May 28. It’s the first time the bee had been held in the nation’s capital in 15 years.
The other finalists were: Oliver Halkett, of Los Angeles; Zwe Spacetime, of Washington, DC.; Kushi Gottimukkala, of Charlotte, North Carolina; Avishka Dudala, of Dallas; Aiden Meng, of Danville, California; Sarv Dharavane, of Tucker, Georgia, and Logan Bailey, of Houston.
Eight of the nine finalists had appeared in previous Scripps National Spelling Bees, and three had advanced to the finals in earlier appearances, according to Scripps.
Aiden opened the competition with the word “essoinee.” He was the first to be eliminated in the third round after fumbling “catometope.” Oliver was second, Zwe was the third, Avishka was fourth, Logan was fifth and Kushi was sixth.
Some of the hardest words of the night included cara sposa and quincke tube. Then it all came down to the final two: Ishaan, a 12-year-old seventh-grader from Jersey City, New Jersey, and Shrey.