This is the second time speller 175, Atman Balakrishnan, has been to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. But the Illinois seventh grader has a spelling legacy.
His father, Balu Natarajan, was the 1985 champion.
Last year, Atman tied for 42nd place. This year, he misspelled "Hanseatic," of or relating to the league first constituted of merchants of various free German cities dealing abroad in the medieval period.
He's the second speller to be eliminated.
