Boston:
She spelt the word "stromuhr" correctly to win the popular Spelling Bee contest, becoming the third Indian-American in a row to emerge victorious in the coveted competition.
Fourteen-year-old Anamika Veeramani from Ohio topped the 83rd Scripps National Spelling Bee yesterday, taking home more than $40,000 in cash and prizes.
The eighth-grader, who plays golf, likes to dance, wants to go to Harvard and become a cardiovascular surgeon, spelt the winning word - stromuhr, a term for an instrument used to measure the velocity of blood flow, to emerge the winner out of 273 spellers who took part in the three-day final held in Washington.
"It was too surreal. It was an amazing experience," Veeramani said after being declared the winner.
The teenager, who had tied for fifth position in last year's spelling bee, became the third consecutive Indian-American champion and the eighth in the last 12 years.
Veeramani's passions include reading, writing, photography and painting. She has been studying Indian classical music for eight years and has played violin for six years.
A member of her school's orchestra, her interests include swimming and science. Her research projects have earned several awards at various science fairs and she also aspires to become an author and screenwriter.
The spelling bee is a peculiarly American tradition and has grown immensely popular in the last few years. The contest regularly sees huge participation from Indian-American kids.
This year alone over 40 Indian-origin children participated in the contest.
The number of this year's spellers was the highest in the history of the event.