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History-Making Spelling Bee Champ Also Set 3 Guinness World Records—And People Are Rightly Obsessed
A 14-year-old girl from Harvey, Louisiana has been crowned the winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee and it's a big deal.
Zaila Avant-garde made history on Thursday, July 8 after becoming the first African American winner and second Black champion of the nationally renowned spelling competition.
The first Black winner was Jody-Anne Maxwell, a 12-year-old from Jamaica who won the National Spelling Bee in 1998.
Avant-garde, who has only been in the competitive spelling game for about two years, clinched her victory by correctly spelling the word "Murraya." Avant-garde broke records by being the first African American winner in the entirety of the 96-year-old competition.
Watch the video here:
Zaila Avant-garde, a 14-year-old from New Orleans, won the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night by correctly spelling the word "murraya.\u201d Zaila becomes the first African American national champion in the spelling bee\u2019s history.pic.twitter.com/QYbO9QPHqF— Keith Boykin (@Keith Boykin) 1625796848
Avant-garde's Scripps win is only the latest title in her collection, however. As it turns out, she actually already holds three separate titles in the GuinnessBook of World Records.
When not practicing her spelling or doing her homeschooled lessons, Avant-garde practices basketball. This is where she began making history.
Avant-garde currently holds world records for the most basketballs dribbled at once (six), the most basketball bounces (307 in 30 seconds), and the most bounce juggles in one minute (four).
But that's not all.
Avant-garde can also speed read at an incredibly fast pace and is a mathematics whiz who can divide five-digit numbers by two-digit numbers in her head.
She's also very skilled on the pogo stick.
Avant-garde hopes her Scripps win will inspire other African Americans to get into competitive spelling.
She said:
"I'm hoping that in a few years I'll see a whole lot more African American females, and males too, are doing well in the Scripps Spelling Bee."
"You don't really see too many African Americans doing too well at spelling bees, and that's a bit sad, because it's like a really good thing. It's a good gate opener to being interested in education."
Needless to say, her fanbase is growing quickly—with some pretty famous folks in there.
Yes, Zaila! We are so, so proud of you! pic.twitter.com/rp0gI4B5BE— Michelle Obama (@Michelle Obama) 1625837761
Congratulations, Zaila! We\u2019re all so proud of you. I have a feeling this isn\u2019t the last time you\u2019ll be making history.https://twitter.com/ScrippsBee/status/1413316412609867776\u00a0\u2026— President Biden (@President Biden) 1625860696
keep changing the game Zaila!!!!!https://twitter.com/AP/status/1412929690227064836\u00a0\u2026— Stephen Curry (@Stephen Curry) 1625843645
C-o-n-g-r-a-t-u-l-a-t-i-o-n-s Zaila Avant-garde. But I\u2019m sure that would be easy for you to spell. Well done!https://twitter.com/espn/status/1413320250326753280\u00a0\u2026— Dan Rather (@Dan Rather) 1625864511
Zaila Avant-garde appreciation post! \n\nThe first @ScrippsBee champion from Louisiana pic.twitter.com/f4IdykVnax— New Orleans Saints (@New Orleans Saints) 1625835601
Everyone is looking to see what feat Avant-garde accomplishes next.
14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde is the 93rd Scripps National #SpellingBee champion.\n\nShe\u2019s also an elite middle-school basketball prospect \n\n(via @Basketballasart)pic.twitter.com/0BaA933iHz— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) 1625835296
She has exceptional focus and a high IQ. She will grow up to be a fine person who can do anything she sets her mind to do. But her greatest gift is supportive parents and teachers.— Autumn \ud83c\udfb6 (@Autumn \ud83c\udfb6) 1625806006
Middle school hoop highlights of Zaila Avant-garde, the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee! \n\nThe 14-year-old also holds 3 Guiness World records for basketball dribbling.pic.twitter.com/49vO7OHcO8— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife.com) 1625834223
Zaila of house Avant-garde.\nFirst of her name. \nPhonetic phenom. \nViscountess of Vocabulary. \nBouncer of Basketballs and Big Words. \nGrand Princess of Guinness World Records.\nMulti-hyphenate Middle School Maven\nCelebrated champion.pic.twitter.com/frkiKQWqTD— Luvvie is the #ProfessionalTroublemaker (@Luvvie is the #ProfessionalTroublemaker) 1625860768
She can SPELL and she can HOOP Her name is Zaila Avant-garde\n\nShoutout to Zaila for becoming the first African American Scripps Spelling Bee Champion pic.twitter.com/tp17Ly4fWk— WNBA (@WNBA) 1625842676
She can ball out too, Zaila holds Guinness World Records for dribbling multiple basketballs\n\nYOU GO ZAILA \n\n( @Basketballasart)pic.twitter.com/q2HDQJuOJA— WNBA (@WNBA) 1625843076
Zaila isn\u2019t just the first winner from Louisiana, but the first Black American winner too \u2014 as well as an accomplished basketball player.\n\nShe has a bright future ahead of her. Congratulations!https://twitter.com/ScrippsBee/status/1413316412609867776?s=20\u00a0\u2026— Women's March (@Women's March) 1625881380
Zaila Avant-garde says basketball is her main passion \n\nLast night, she became the first African American Scripps National Spelling Bee champion\n\n(via @AP)pic.twitter.com/7IYOffKxL7— Bleacher Report (@Bleacher Report) 1625855783
The word is 'star.' Definition: Zaila Avant-garde. \n\nCongratulations on your amazing #SpellingBee win, @BasketballAsArt! We hope you'll join the NASA family one day!https://twitter.com/ScrippsBee/status/1413293954989232128\u00a0\u2026— NASA (@NASA) 1625850982
Avant-garde has big plans for the future.
She wants to play basketball at Harvard, go on to the WNBA and maybe even work for NASA one day.