Zaila Avant-garde holds her trophy after becoming the first African American to win the US Scripps National Spelling Bee.
A teenage basketball prodigy, Zaila Avant-garde, has become the first African American to win the US Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Fourteen-year-old Zaila from New Orleans, Louisiana, cruised to victory with the word "murraya" - a type of tropical tree.
She saw off a field of 11 finalists on Thursday to win the title and bagged a first-place prize of US$50,000 at the event in Orlando, Florida.
Despite practising for up to seven hours a day, Zaila described spelling as a side hobby - as her main focus is on becoming a professional basketball player.
She already holds three world records for dribbling multiple balls at once, and has appeared in an advertisement with NBA star Stephen Curry.
The only previous black winner of the Scripps spelling bee competition was Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica, who became champion in 1998 at age 12. She is still the only champion from outside the United States.
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