The 98th Scripps National Spelling Bee officially took place from Tuesday, May 26 to Thursday, May 28, 2026, at the iconic DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
This year marked a major historic milestone as the competition left its long-time suburban Maryland location to return directly to the nation’s capital for the first time in 15 years.
The event featured 247 young spellers ranging from ages 9 to 15, representing all 50 U.S. states, three U.S. territories, and five international countries: the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates.
From this wide field, only nine spellers advanced to the finals held on Thursday evening, May 28. The stage was set for a fast-paced spell-off that would test not just memory, but speed and composure under pressure.
A 14-year-old student from California, Shrey Parikh, stood at the center of it all, having just delivered one of the most precise performances in the competition’s history, emerging victorious as the 2026 winner.
The defining moment came during the 90-second spell-off round. Each finalist had to correctly spell as many words as possible from the same list. Shrey delivered 32 correct spellings out of 35 attempts. His final successful word, “Bromocriptine,” sealed the victory. The word, as defined by a leading English dictionary, refers to an alkaloid that mimics dopamine activity and inhibits the secretion of prolactin.
This victory added to a long list of accomplishments and rewards. He received a $50,000 prize, a commemorative medal, the Scripps Cup, $2,500 from Merriam-Webster, $1,000 in flight credits from Delta Air Lines, and $400 worth of reference works from Encyclopaedia Britannica.
This was not Shrey’s first appearance on the national stage of the competition. He had previously competed in 2022, finishing tied for 89th place, and again in 2024, where he tied for 3rd place. His persistence over multiple years shaped the result he achieved in 2026.
