Contestants Chloe Bordewich, 13, of Red Hook, N.Y., J.J. Goldstein, 13, of Great Neck, N.Y., and Evelyn Blacklock, 14, of Tuxedo Park, N.Y. (L-R) wait to step up to the microphone in the first round of the 76th annual National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., on May 28, 2003. This year's contest includes 251 students from across the nation.
Jodie Singer, right, her mother Carrie and brother Adam go over the National Spelling Bee guide, May 19, 2003. Jodie's goal was to clear the first round, but that didn't happen; she got stuck on "demesne," which means the legal possession of land as one's own.
Georgia Simonson, 15, of St. Paul, Minn., peers over her placard while participating in the Bee, May 28, 2003. Simonson misspelled "lebensraum," meaning territory believed to be necessary for national existence or economic self-sufficiency, in round one.
Sana Ishrat Abdul Hye, 14, of Tampa, Fla., left, takes the written test along with other contestants during the second round of the Bee, May 28, 2003. Bee officials introduced the test in 2002 as a way to speed up the contest but ensure that every student got at least one chance at the microphone. Hye was not one of the 84 contestants to advance after the test.
Benjamin Brown, 12, of Canadaigua, N.Y., yawns while awaiting his turn in the first round of the Bee, May 28, 2003. Brown was eliminated after the written test in round two.
Ramesh Govindan, 11, of Lancaster, Mass., participates in the first round of the Bee, May 28, 2003. Govindan did not make it past the written test in round two.
J.J. Goldstein, 13, of Great Neck, N.Y., Evelyn Blacklock, 14, of Tuxedo Park, N.Y., and Erik Zyman Carrasco, 11, of New York, stretch as they prepare for the third round of the 76th annual event, May 29, 2003.
Trevor Leslie, 13, of Indianapolis looks skyward as he ponders his word in the third round of the Bee, May 29, 2003. He was eliminated for misspelling "poinciana," which is a small tropical tree.
Trudy McLeary, 14, of Kingston, Jamaica, ponders her word during the third round of the Bee, May 29, 2003. McLeary startled the audience by booming her questions into the microphone. She broke her word - "fantoccini," meaning puppets moved by strings - into four sections as she spelled it correctly.
Bria Justine Wash, 14, of Anderson, Ind., ponders her word, May 29, 2003. She was eliminated after misspelling "exegetical," meaning of or relating to explanation, in the fifth round.
Erik Carrasco, 11, of New York, reacts after correctly spelling his word, May 29, 2003.
Pierre Thompson, 14, of Orinda, Calif., misspelled "Lorelei," a siren of Germanic legend, in the fifth round, May 29, 2003.
And The Winner Is ...
Sai Gunturi, 13, of Dallas celebrates after winning the Spelling Bee with the word "pococurante," meaning caring little, or indifference.