Who is Faizan Zaki? A 13-year-old Indian-American Spelling Bee 2025 winner
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Who is Faizan Zaki? A 13-year-old Indian-American Spelling Bee 2025 winner")
Faizan Zaki's winning moment Photograph: (Instagram/@Scripps National Spelling Bee)
Faizan Zaki is a 7th-grade student at C.M. Rice Middle School in Dallas, Texas. He represented the Dallas Sports Commission in the competition.
Faizan Zaki, a 13-year-old prodigy from Texas, made history on Friday, May 30, by winning the prestigious 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee. He emerged victorious after defeating 242 other talented competitors and spelling éclaircissement correctly.
Zaki's remarkable win was announced on the official Instagram handle of the competition. Sharing a photo of the young champion from his winning moment, they captioned the post as, "Faizan Zaki, representing the Dallas Sports Commission, has done it! He is your 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion! One of the most unforgettable performances in the 100-year history of the Bee! His winning word: éclaircissement.''
Along with the Scripps Cup, Zaki received $50,000 in cash and an honorary medal.
Meanwhile, Sarvadnya Kadam was named the runner-up in this year’s competition. Hailing from California, she received $ 25,000, and Sarv Dharavane from Georgia came third in the contest. He received $15,000 as a prize.
After winning the competition, Zaki said, “I can’t describe it. It’s so amazing, getting to this point. Winning? I never expected this.”
Who is Faizan Zaki?
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Faizan Zaki is a 7th-grade student at C.M. Rice Middle School in Dallas, Texas. He represented the Dallas Sports Commission in the competition.
His journey to the championship wasn’t easy. Zaki had participated in the Scripps National Spelling Bee three times previously; unfortunately, he was not able to clinch the win. In 2024, he lost the trophy to fellow Indian-American Bruhat Soma after he misspelt a word in a hurry.
With this year’s win, Zaki is now one of only five contestants in the Bee’s history to win the championship after finishing as a runner-up the previous year.
He first entered the competition in 2019 when he was only seven years old, one of the youngest contestants in bee history. After finishing in 370th place, he competed again in 2023 and 2024.
Zaki hails from Texas and has roots in Hyderabad, India.
