Zaila, 14, of Harvey, La., Won the title "murraya." She became the first Black American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in nearly a century of competition.



The last word, after hundreds of competitors fell into some of the worst dictionary terms of the dictionary, was murraya.

When Zaila Avant-garde, 14, spelled it well on Thursday night, she put her hands on her head, swollen and twisted, her arms were stretched out and it was raining all over the stage.

Zaila, 14, a eighth-grader near New Orleans, had just won the 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee, becoming the first black American student to take the trophy after 10 other finalists stumbled in the final rounds of the competition.

It was an amazing success for a girl who started spelling competitively two years ago. Not only did he spread the word and stage on the biggest spelling stage, he had already set three Guinness world records by hitting, hitting and turning baskets. All before ninth grade.

"The last time I got it, as a very good result, it was really good," Zaila told "Good Morning America" ​​on Friday, saying she had worked to win two years.

Zaila, who also won the $ 50,000 prize, said that while she was happy to be the first Black American to win, she wanted to see more Black students compete in this beehive.

"I hope that in a few years," she said, "I will see more African American women, and men as well, who are doing well in Scripps Spelling Bee," which she calls an "open-opener" to be interested in education. ”

Zaila was also the first student from Louisiana to win a bee. The first Black winner was Jody-Anne Maxwell, a 12-year-old Jamaican, who received a bee in 1998.


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