Dev Shah, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Florida has won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee, a prestigious contest in which children of Indian ancestry have dominated.

On Tuesday, Shah correctly spelled the word to win the 95th national bee and the USD 50,000 reward.

“It’s surreal”, Dev Shah said onstage as confetti landed on his head as he held the trophy high above his head.

Following much speculation about a probable spell-off, a beaming Shah triumphed by correctly spelling ‘psammophile’, a plant or animal that thrives in sandy soil.

“Psammo means sand in Greek?” he inquired.

“Phile, means love in Greek?” Shah immediately recognized the roots of his word but requested all the information just to be safe, while smiling slightly, as though he was pretty sure he got it.

This was Shah’s third attempt. His previous two efforts were in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

Shah’s parents appeared on stage, clearly moved, and his mother stated that he has been prepared for this for four years.

Eleven pupils advanced to the finals after 11 million individuals competed in spelling bees throughout the world.

The preliminary rounds began on Tuesday, followed by the quarterfinals and semifinals on Wednesday.

Charlotte Walsh, a 14-year-old from Arlington, Virginia, came in second place.

The Spelling Bee, which involves elementary and middle school pupils spelling words that most adults would find difficult, has had a turbulent few years. The National Spelling Bee first took place in 1925.

The competition was canceled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a dramatic change for what is regarded as the largest and longest-running educational initiative in the United States.

The Bee returned in 2021 but with some modifications.

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