The 14-year-old student from Rancho Cucamonga, California, who won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night said he is glad he didn’t give up after previous 89th and third place finishes and missing the event last year due to sickness.
“It honestly feels amazing,” Shrey Parikh said on GMA Friday. “I’m just so glad that I didn’t give up when everything was not good last year, and I’m glad I saw it through to the end and had perseverance and kept going because it all paid off.”
Shrey, who is in the eighth grade, won the competition in a dramatic final spell-off that saw him correctly spell 32 words in 90 seconds.
He said his method of preparing for the spelling bee — typing out words — helped him win the lightning-round tiebreaker against his fellow finalist, Ishan Gupta.
“I prepared mostly by typing, so usually that involved trying to get through as many words as I could in a day,” Shrey said. “The spell-off kind of came naturally because it kind of aligned with my practice and it was good for me, in that way, that I had the practice to help me do well in the spell-off.”
With his total of 32 words, Shrey broke a spell-off record, according to Scripps. His winning word was bromocriptine.
Shrey previously competed in the national bee in 2022 and tied for third place in 2024. The 2026 bee marked his final year of eligibility.
“I am feeling a mix of excitement and relief,” he said. “I’m just so glad that I won the bee. It’s been something I’ve been looking forward to for a really long time.”
Shrey took home more than $50,000 in cash and prizes, along with a trophy.