![]() Contestants hailed from five countries: the US, the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana and Japan.įirst lady Dr Jill Biden was present to cheer Zaila and the other contestants on. It started with 209 spellers, ranging from 9 to 15 years old, with only 11 making it to Thursday night's final. MARTIN: So it's been just over a week since your win. Zaila already holds three Guinness World Records for most basketballs dribbled simultaneously, most bounce juggles (with four basketballs) in one minute, and most basketball bounces in 30. We wanted to catch up with Zaila Avant-garde to talk about her success, and she is with us now. The Scripps National Spelling Bee competition, which was cancelled last year because of the pandemic, took place this year at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. She already has three records in the Guinness Book of World Records for her basketball dribbling skills. Along with competing in spelling bees for two years, Avant-garde holds two Guinness World Records for her basketball prowess. Her motivation comes from a place far more poignant: "I think the more that the achievements and triumphs of women are promoted and publicised, the more likely it is that other girls all around the world will see that they can do any and everything that they put their minds to," she said in a video posted to the official Guinness World Records Twitter page. ![]() It's about more than just spelling and basketball for Zaila, though. ![]() The only one she stumbled on in the whole set was "nepeta", another botanical word for a type of flowering plants.Ĭhaitra Thummala, 12, from Frisco, Texas, was runner-up. Oh, and she also owns three Guinness World Records for her ball-handling prowess, including most bounce juggles in a minute.Zaila leapt with excitement and twirled amid a sea of confetti after spelling the winning word. Zaila Avant-garde is a 3-time Guinness World Record holder She also hopes to work for NASA after playing basketball if coaching in the NBA doesn’t work out and pursue a career in gene editing or neuroscience. After her win, the WNBA Twitter account congratulated her on her achievement. She has aspirations of playing basketball at Harvard and playing in the WNBA. It’s even more impressive when you consider Avant-garde refers to spelling as her side hustle. “I felt like in the moment I snapped out of a surreal dream.” Zaila Avant-garde hopes to play at Harvard, the WNBA and coach in the NBA The most basketballs dribbled simultaneously - one person is 6, and was achieved by Joseph Odhiambo (USA) in Mesa, Arizona, USA, on 15 August 2000. ![]() So to actually win the whole thing was like a dream come true,” she told CNN’s “New Day” on Friday. ![]() “It felt really good to win because I have been working on it for like two years. She also collects a $50,000 prize for her win, which is pretty impressive considering she just began practicing for the event two years ago. With apologies to Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the best sporting event on Thursday night was the Scripps National Spelling Bee that saw 14-year-old Louisiana native, Zailia Avant-garde winning and making history at the same time.Īfter correctly spelling “Murraya,” Avant-garde became the first Black American to win the event in 93 competitions. Zaila Avant-garde became the first Black American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in nearly 100 years of competitions, but spelling is just her side hustle. ![]()
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