A 5-Year-Old Girl Just Qualified To Be The Youngest National Spelling Bee Contestant Ever

Her final winning word in the regional competition was "jnana."

By
Julia Reinstein
by Julia Reinstein

BuzzFeed News Reporter

This May, the 90th annual National Spelling Bee will feature its youngest contestant in history, 5-year-old Edith Fuller of Oklahoma.

KJRH/Tulsa

Edith qualified for the national competition when she won her regional competition on Saturday, beating more than 50 other elementary and middle school students.

She correctly spelled 37 words, including "perestroika," "nisei," and her final winning word, "jnana."

Edith's mom, Annie Fuller, told Tulsa World she only learned of her daughter's spelling skills last summer, when she correctly spelled "restaurant" despite having never been taught how.

KJRH/Tulsa

“We knew there was something special there,” Fuller said.

After that, Edith and her mom began practicing for the bee, looking up words she misspelled along the way to learn their spellings and meanings.

“Learning the words was so educational. She was able to learn about different countries and cultures and different kinds of food,” Fuller said.

Despite her daughter's spelling genius, Fuller said she was simply impressed that Edith was able to stick out the four-hour competition.

“She likes to move around,” Fuller said. “I’m surprised she sat still for so long.”

“It’s fun to share her with everyone. I knew she’d be a novelty, so I’m proud she held her own," Fuller said.

KJRH/Tulsa

And the 5-year-old champion is feeling pretty great about the upcoming competition, too.

“I feel thankful,” Edith said.

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Here's the full list of words Edith spelled correctly to advance to the National Spelling Bee:

1. Dracula

2. Layette

3. Odori

4. Colloquial

5. Sevruga

6. Staccato

7. Panglossian

8. Troika

9. Picaresque

10. Lieutenant

11. Kama

12. Mesmerize

13. Tritium

14. Pernicious

15. Buddha

16. Minaret

17. Dahlia

18. Tamarind

19. Virgule

20. Eocene

21. Zephyr

22. Fuselage

23. Nisei

24. Philately

25. Euthanasia

26. Jacamar

27. Chauvinism

28. Alim

29. Perestroika

30. Fennec

31. Lahar

32. Weimaraner

33. Fete

34. Baedeker

35. Sarsaparilla

36. Croesus

37. Jnana

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