Latest news with #US1500
The Age
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
One 15-letter word stood between Faizan and the title of best speller in the English language. He nailed it
But Sarv misspelled again, followed in the next round by Sarvadnya, and Faizan stayed just calm enough to ensure his competitors wouldn't get back to the microphone. It was a riveting conclusion to a competition that started in 1925 and appears to have a bright future. Scripps, a Cincinnati-based media company, had a few dozen former champions on hand to celebrate the centennial of an event that began when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington. Faizan lost to Bruhat Soma last year in a tiebreaker known as a 'spell-off'. He became only the fifth runner-up to come back and win and the first since Sean Conley in 2001. With the winner's haul of $US52,500 ($81,700) added to his second-place prize of $US25,000, Faizan increased his bee earnings to $US77,500. His big splurge with his winnings last year? A $US1500 Rubik's cube with 21 squares on each side. This is the last year the bee will be held at its home for the past 14 years, a convention centre just outside Washington on the banks of the Potomac River. In 2026, the competition returns to the nation's capital at Constitution Hall, a nearly century-old concert venue near the White House. Other finalists – Aishwarya Kallakuri, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Concord, North Carolina, and winner of the SpellPundit National Spelling Bee. – Harini Murali, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Edison, New Jersey, a finalist last year and the younger sister of Navneeth Murali, who would have been a top contender in the 2020 bee had it not been cancelled because of COVID-19. –Esha Marupudi, a 13-year-old seventh-grader from Chandler, Arizona, who is competing at the bee for the first time. –Oliver Halkett, a 13-year-old seventh-grader from Los Angeles and a two-time bee participant. –Sarvadnya Kadam, a three-time speller and a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Visalia, California. –Sarv Dharavane, an 11-year-old from Dunwoody, Georgia, who made the semifinals last year as a fourth-grader. –Brian Liu, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Great Neck, New York, who was a semifinalist two years ago but didn't make it to the bee in 2024. –Akshaj Somisetty, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and a two-time speller who leapt from quarterfinalist to finalist.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
One 15-letter word stood between Faizan and the title of best speller in the English language. He nailed it
But Sarv misspelled again, followed in the next round by Sarvadnya, and Faizan stayed just calm enough to ensure his competitors wouldn't get back to the microphone. It was a riveting conclusion to a competition that started in 1925 and appears to have a bright future. Scripps, a Cincinnati-based media company, had a few dozen former champions on hand to celebrate the centennial of an event that began when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington. Faizan lost to Bruhat Soma last year in a tiebreaker known as a 'spell-off'. He became only the fifth runner-up to come back and win and the first since Sean Conley in 2001. With the winner's haul of $US52,500 ($81,700) added to his second-place prize of $US25,000, Faizan increased his bee earnings to $US77,500. His big splurge with his winnings last year? A $US1500 Rubik's cube with 21 squares on each side. This is the last year the bee will be held at its home for the past 14 years, a convention centre just outside Washington on the banks of the Potomac River. In 2026, the competition returns to the nation's capital at Constitution Hall, a nearly century-old concert venue near the White House. Other finalists – Aishwarya Kallakuri, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Concord, North Carolina, and winner of the SpellPundit National Spelling Bee. – Harini Murali, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Edison, New Jersey, a finalist last year and the younger sister of Navneeth Murali, who would have been a top contender in the 2020 bee had it not been cancelled because of COVID-19. –Esha Marupudi, a 13-year-old seventh-grader from Chandler, Arizona, who is competing at the bee for the first time. –Oliver Halkett, a 13-year-old seventh-grader from Los Angeles and a two-time bee participant. –Sarvadnya Kadam, a three-time speller and a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Visalia, California. –Sarv Dharavane, an 11-year-old from Dunwoody, Georgia, who made the semifinals last year as a fourth-grader. –Brian Liu, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Great Neck, New York, who was a semifinalist two years ago but didn't make it to the bee in 2024. –Akshaj Somisetty, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and a two-time speller who leapt from quarterfinalist to finalist.
The Advertiser
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
US Olympic gymnastics star arrested for drink driving
Legendary US Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton is facing charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs after being arrested in her West Virginia hometown. Fairmont police stopped Retton on May 17 following a report about a person in a Porsche driving erratically. According to the criminal complaint, Retton smelled of alcohol and was slurring her words, and she failed a field sobriety test. Officers also reported observing a container of wine in the passenger seat. Retton, 57, refused a roadside breath test and a blood test. She was released from custody after paying a $US1500 personal recognisance bond. Retton, 57, shot to global fame after becoming the first American woman to win the all-around gold for gymnastics at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. At just 16, she also won two silver and two bronze medals to help bring gymnastics into the mainstream in the United States. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2023, Retton's family disclosed she was recuperating from a rare form of pneumonia that landed her in intensive care. Doctors found her oxygen levels dangerously low. Legendary US Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton is facing charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs after being arrested in her West Virginia hometown. Fairmont police stopped Retton on May 17 following a report about a person in a Porsche driving erratically. According to the criminal complaint, Retton smelled of alcohol and was slurring her words, and she failed a field sobriety test. Officers also reported observing a container of wine in the passenger seat. Retton, 57, refused a roadside breath test and a blood test. She was released from custody after paying a $US1500 personal recognisance bond. Retton, 57, shot to global fame after becoming the first American woman to win the all-around gold for gymnastics at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. At just 16, she also won two silver and two bronze medals to help bring gymnastics into the mainstream in the United States. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2023, Retton's family disclosed she was recuperating from a rare form of pneumonia that landed her in intensive care. Doctors found her oxygen levels dangerously low. Legendary US Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton is facing charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs after being arrested in her West Virginia hometown. Fairmont police stopped Retton on May 17 following a report about a person in a Porsche driving erratically. According to the criminal complaint, Retton smelled of alcohol and was slurring her words, and she failed a field sobriety test. Officers also reported observing a container of wine in the passenger seat. Retton, 57, refused a roadside breath test and a blood test. She was released from custody after paying a $US1500 personal recognisance bond. Retton, 57, shot to global fame after becoming the first American woman to win the all-around gold for gymnastics at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. At just 16, she also won two silver and two bronze medals to help bring gymnastics into the mainstream in the United States. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2023, Retton's family disclosed she was recuperating from a rare form of pneumonia that landed her in intensive care. Doctors found her oxygen levels dangerously low. Legendary US Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton is facing charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs after being arrested in her West Virginia hometown. Fairmont police stopped Retton on May 17 following a report about a person in a Porsche driving erratically. According to the criminal complaint, Retton smelled of alcohol and was slurring her words, and she failed a field sobriety test. Officers also reported observing a container of wine in the passenger seat. Retton, 57, refused a roadside breath test and a blood test. She was released from custody after paying a $US1500 personal recognisance bond. Retton, 57, shot to global fame after becoming the first American woman to win the all-around gold for gymnastics at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. At just 16, she also won two silver and two bronze medals to help bring gymnastics into the mainstream in the United States. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2023, Retton's family disclosed she was recuperating from a rare form of pneumonia that landed her in intensive care. Doctors found her oxygen levels dangerously low.
