Finola Hackett, a 14-year-old Albertan, took second place in a prominent international spelling bee on Thursday. It was Canada’s highest-ever ranking in the competition.

Though she breezed through earlier rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee to secure a spot in the championship competition, Hackett stumbled on the word “weltschmerz.” The Oxford Canadian Dictionary defines the noun as “a feeling of pessimism.” There were audible groans from the audience as she began spelling the word with a “v.”

“I knew I had seen the word before,” she told CBC News. “I just couldn’t for the life of me figure out exactly how to spell it.”

Katharine Close, a 13-year-old from New Jersey, went on to win the competition by correctly spelling her last two words, “kundalini” and “ursprache.” She took home about $42,000 US in prizes, while Hackett won $12,000 in prizes.

“Of course I was a little bit disappointed, but I’m so proud that I did so much for Canada,” she said.

This was Hackett’s last shot at the spelling title, as she’ll be told old for next year’s competition.

The spelling bee was broadcast live on prime-time television by ABC. The competition took place in Washington, D.C., with 14 Canadian spellers among the 275 participants, all aged nine to 14.






Related Stories: