For the first time in 52 years, the Scripps National Spelling Bee ended in a tie: The competition, aired on ESPN, crowned both Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe its champions.
After 22 rounds, the judges said they had run out of words.
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Hathwar, 14, from Painted Post, N.Y., and Sujoe, 13, from Fort Worth, Texas, were declared co-champions after Hathwar spelled “stichomythia” (defined as “dialogue especially of altercation or dispute delivered in alternating lines”) and Sujoe spelled “feuilleton” (“a part of a European newspaper or magazine devoted to material designed to entertain the general reader.”)
This is the first time since 1962 and fourth time ever that the Bee has named co-champions.
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This was the fifth consecutive Scripps National Spelling Bee for Hathwar, who finished in third place in 2013. It is the second consecutive for Sujoe, who tied for 43rd place in 2013.
Watch a highlights video from “CBS This Morning”:
