‘Fibranne’ and ‘Douanier’ Spell Difference for Bee Winner, 13

Amy Dimak, 13, of Seattle, won the 63rd annual National Spelling Bee on Thursday, correctly spelling “fibranne.”

Amy, who wore No. 218--the same as last year’s winner--faced off with Eric Enders, 13, correctly spelling the word that means a type of cloth, after Enders missed “douanier,” a customs officer.

Amy won $5,000, a trophy and other prizes. Eric will receive $4,000 for his second-place finish.

Eric, who often asked for the definition and origin of the word, correctly spelled “querimonious” and “valetudinary,” while Amy succeeded with “sansculotte” and “lanuginous.”

At a news conference after her win, Amy said she knew all of the 11 words she had been asked to spell and did not guess at any. But when asked whether she was happy she did not have to spell some of the words given to other students, she replied: “Definitely.”

Amy said she had been studying with a spelling coach for more than a year. In recent months she has devoted about two hours a day three times a week to those studies, she said.

Amy, Eric, Lisa Edwin, 11, of Dwight, Ill., and Tessa Sundaram, 11, of Newtown Square, Pa., breezed through the seventh round that began with 12 spellers.

Lisa was the first down in the eighth round, misspelling “confrerie.” A total of 880 words had been used by the end of the sixth round.

Thirty-one spellers survived the fifth round, although four-time finalist Kanika Bahl, 14, of Beavercreek, Ohio, was eliminated on “papillote.”