There were two winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday, with both Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe proving so formidable in National Harbor, Md., that organizers ran out of questions.
In the final round, Hathwar, a 14-year-old from Painted Post, N.Y., correctly spelled stichomythia — a dramatic dispute between two actors. Sujoe, a 13-year-old from Fort Worth, had no problem with feuilleton — a special supplement of a European newspaper.
“I think we both know that the competition was against the dictionary, not against each other,” Hathwar told ESPN after the win. “I am happy to share this trophy with him.”
“I was pretty happy when I made the finals, and now I’m even happier that I’m a co-champion,” said Sujoe.
The result is the first tie at the event in half a century.
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