Washington, D.C. – Shrey Parikh (Shray Puh-reek), a 14-year-old speller from Rancho Cucamonga, California, is the champion of the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee after winning the competition in a thrilling spell-off. Parikh correctly spelled 32 out of 35 words attempted in 90 seconds to win the title and beat the previous spell-off record set in 2024 by Bruhat Soma, who spelled 29 out of 30 words correctly. Parikh defeated Ishaan Gupta of Jersey City, New Jersey, in the spell-off.