Zaila Avant-garde, 14, became the first African American student to win at the Scripps National Spelling Bee
She won by properly the word murraya, a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees, on Thursday night
Before the competition, First Lady Jill Biden congratulated the 11 finalists
Wearing the dress she donned for her Vogue cover, she told the audience that she had once been a spelling bee champion but faked being sick to avoid the competition
She then sat in the crowd and watched as Avant-garde, 14, became the first African American student to win the Spelling Bee in its 96-year history
First African American wins U.S. spelling bee, conquering with Murraya Reuters 10 hrs ago
By Daniel Trotta
(Reuters) - Zaila Avant-garde, 14, became the first African American to win the 90-year-old Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday by correctly spelling Murraya, a genus of plants, staying cool after a near miss with a botanical word in a previous round.
Televised live on ESPN, complete with play-by-play commentary and interviews with the participants, the competition finals returned after being cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was once again held before a live audience at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando.
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