Zaila Avant-Garde, 14, Wins Spelling Bee with 'Murraya'

Zaila Avant-garde, 14, from New Orleans, Louisiana, holds up her trophy after winning the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, US July 8, 2021.
Zaila Avant-garde, 14, from New Orleans, Louisiana, holds up her trophy after winning the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, US July 8, 2021.
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Zaila Avant-Garde, 14, Wins Spelling Bee with 'Murraya'

Zaila Avant-garde, 14, from New Orleans, Louisiana, holds up her trophy after winning the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, US July 8, 2021.
Zaila Avant-garde, 14, from New Orleans, Louisiana, holds up her trophy after winning the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, US July 8, 2021.

Zaila Avant-garde, 14, became the first African American to win the 90-year-old Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday by correctly spelling “Murraya,” a genus of plants, staying cool after a near miss with a botanical word in a previous round.

Televised live on ESPN, complete with play-by-play commentary and interviews with the participants, the competition finals returned after being cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was once again held before a live audience at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando.

Avant-garde, from New Orleans, is the first Black contestant to win since Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica in 1998. The winner is also an accomplished basketball player, with several Guinness World Records to her name for dribbling multiple basketballs at a time.

Avant-garde claimed the $50,000 top prize after appearing relaxed and bantering with the judges and moderators, despite her struggle with “Nepeta,” a word for another plant genus.

Pausing at the unstressed sound in the middle of word, she collected herself, started again, and nailed the second “e”, jumping for joy on stage when told she was correct.

Chaitra Thummala, 12, of San Francisco, came in second after mis-spelling “neroli oil,” but still takes home $25,000.

Bhavana Madini, 13, of New York finished third with the $15,000 prize, after being eliminated on “athanor,” a type of furnace.

In a competition that has been dominated by contestants of Indian heritage, Avant-garde is sure to be celebrated for her ground-breaking victory.

She told the Associated Press in an interview before the finals she hoped to inspire other African Americans, who she said might not have the money to pay for the tutorials needed to be competitive.

This year’s competition added rules meant to avoid multiple co-winners, like the eight who shared the title in the “octo-champs” contest in 2019.



German Backpacker Escapes Australian Bush Ordeal by 'Sheer Luck'

German backpacker Carolina Wilga lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush. Handout / WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE FORCE/AFP
German backpacker Carolina Wilga lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush. Handout / WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE FORCE/AFP
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German Backpacker Escapes Australian Bush Ordeal by 'Sheer Luck'

German backpacker Carolina Wilga lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush. Handout / WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE FORCE/AFP
German backpacker Carolina Wilga lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush. Handout / WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE FORCE/AFP

German backpacker Carolina Wilga lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush, and only made it out by "sheer luck", police said Saturday.

The 26-year-old walked "confused and disoriented" 24 kilometers (15 miles) away from her van after it got stuck in remote bushland in Western Australia, AFP reported.

As police searched for her by air, the backpacker's ordeal ended Friday when she managed to flag down a woman driving by who took her to police.

"She is still in disbelief that she was able to survive. In her mind, she had convinced herself that she was not going to be located," said Jessica Securo, acting inspector for the Western Australia police.

The rescue was down to "sheer luck".

"I actually spoke to Carolina this morning, so she confirmed that she was very confused and disorientated," Securo told a news conference.

"She basically looked at the direction of the sun and tried to head west, thinking that that would be her best bet of coming across someone or a road."

Wilga had been last seen on June 29 arriving in the van at a general store in the small agricultural community of Beacon, northeast of Perth.

Police found the van on Thursday, abandoned after getting stuck in dense bushland north of Beacon, with plastic orange traction tracks placed beneath the rear wheels.

"It appears that she has somewhat lost control of the vehicle, and then it's become mechanically unsound, and bogged," Securo said.

- 'Overwhelmed' -

She stayed with the van for one day before leaving the vehicle through "panic", hoping to find help.

Wilga was found "exhausted, dehydrated and hungry", suffering from cuts and bruises, but "overwhelmed" to have found someone to help her.

"She had minimal food and minimal water. From speaking to her, she has said she could have planned better."

The terrain "can be quite dangerous", Securo added.

Wilga remained in a Perth hospital and was not expected to be released on Saturday, still needing "emotional support" and treatment for some injuries.

"She's had a good night's sleep. She's had a shower. We've got her some food, which was a massive relief for her. So she's just taking it one day at a time at the moment."

The backpacker is now in "frequent communication" with her family who are relieved and thankful the Western Australian community came together to "throw every resource at locating their daughter", Securo said.

The family had no plans at this stage to travel to Australia.

Police say Wilga had spent two years backpacking around the country, and was working at mine sites in Western Australia while staying mostly at hostels.

"Carolina has told me that she loves Australia. She still has so much travel to do here. She hasn't made it over to the east coast yet, so that's still on her bucket list."