Gokul Venkatachalam, speller 140, got as close as he could get to winning last year, when he finished in third place. He’s hoping to win the bee this year, but said winning isn’t everything.
“Winning is a culmination of the effort, but losing isn’t a bad thing,” he said. “If you don’t win, it doesn’t change the person you are.”
Gokul is from Chesterfield, Missouri. This is the eighth grader’s fourth bee; he finished in third place last year, tied for 19th place in 2013, and tied for 10th place in 2012.
Gokul got out last year on “Kiekegaardian” – he left out the first “E.” This year, he said he focused on root-based learning, not memorization.
“I’m confident I’ll be able to spell my words right, as long as I take my time,” he said.