Harini Logan, a cheerful 14-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, made history on June 2, 2022. She became the first Scripps National Spelling Bee champion to win after being eliminated and later reinstated. She was also the first to prevail in a lightning-round tiebreaker with the runner-up.
But the fact that she is Indian American – a group that makes up about 1.3% of the U.S. population – is hardly unusual. Over the past 20 years, Indian Americans have come to dominate the Scripps National Spelling Bee – with 21 of the past 23 champions being of South Asian descent.
