Harini Logan is an American student of Indian origin who won the Scripps National Spelling Bee 2022.
Wiki/Biography
Harini Logan was born on Friday 9 May 2008 (age 14 years; as of 2022) in San Antonio, Texas, US. Her zodiac sign is Taurus. She pursued her schooling at The Montessori School of San Antonio, San Antonio, United States. As of 2022. she is in 8th grade. Since childhood, she has actively participated in various extra-curriculum activities. She also presented a project on France at a Multicultural fair at her school.
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Harini Logan’s parents hail from Chennai, India. Her father, Logan Anjaneyulu, holds the position of Director at Valero Energy Corporation. Her mother, Rampriya Logan, worked as a consultant at Cognizant. Her younger brother’s name is Naren Logan; he was born on 16 May 2016.
Harini Logan with her parents and brother
Spelling Bee Competitions
When Harini was in first grade she developed an interest to participate in the spelling bee competitions by watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee 2013 with her family on the TV. She embarked on her journey as a speller in second grade participating in NSF Regional Spelling Bee. In 2019, she became the winner of the San Antonio Express News Regional Spelling Bee second time in a row.
Harini Logan at San Antonio Express News Regional Spelling Bee (2019)
She first participated in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2018; she secured 323rd place in the competition. In 2019, she ranked 30th, and in 2021, she ranked 31st.In the 2020 Canada-USA International Spelling Bee Championship, she secured second place. She was the first runner-up in WishWin’s 2021 Senior Spellathon.
Harini posing with her WishWin Spellathon 2021 trophy
On 27 March 2021, Logan won the Brauntex Bee Regional Spelling Competition at the Brauntex Theatre paving her way into Scripps National Spelling Bee. On 3 June 2022, she rose to popularity when she won the Scripps National Spelling Bee after defeating Vikram Raju in the competition’s first-ever lightning-round tiebreaker. The competition was held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill. During the competition, Harini correctly spelt 22 words in the spell-off with ‘moorhen’ being her final winning word, as compared to Raju who spelt only 15 words. The finalists Vikram Raju and Harini Logan failed to correctly spell two words in a row between Rounds 13 and 18 when the jury initiated a 90 seconds spell-off. It was announced that the contestant who would spell as many words as possible correctly would become the winner. Apart from awards from Merriam-Webster and Encyclopedia Britannica, Logan received a cash prize of $50,000 and a Scripps Cup.
An image of Harini Logan receiving the Scripps Cup (2022)
Favourites
Facts/Trivia
- She was sponsored by Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre Association for the Scripps National Spelling Bee 2022.
- She was trained for the competition by the renowned spelling bee coach Grace Walters, who is a resident of Texas and a student at Rice University.
- Surprisingly, Harini was mistakenly eliminated from the Scripps National Spelling Bee over the word “pullulation,” which she defined as “the nesting of mating birds” whereas the jury asserted that the correct answer was “the swarming of bees.” Consequently, Walters and Navneeth, Harini’s spelling bee coaches, along with Harini’s mom, Priya, rushed to the jury after which the head judge Mary Brooks renounce the jury’s decision. She said,
We did a little sleuthing after you finished, which is what our job is, to make sure we’ve made the right decision. We did a little deep dive in that word and actually the answer you gave to that word is considered correct, so we’re going to reinstate you.”
- In an interview, she talked about the lightning round, which was introduced a few months before the competition and said,
When it got introduced last year, I was a bit terrified, to be honest..I go slow. That’s my thing. I didn’t know how I would fare in that setting.”
- She was a voracious reader since childhood.
- A skilled musician, Harini plays the piano, the recorder and the ukulele.
- She loves creative writing and plans on publishing a book by the time she enrols in high school.
- She draws inspiration from Kamala Harris, the first Indian-origin US Vice-President.
- She is also fond of playing Tennis.
Harini playing Tennis