Despite a solid performance in the oral competition Wednesday in the U.S. spelling bee, Japan Times Bee winner Hanna Yoshida failed to qualify for Thursday's finals due to weak written test results.
During Wednesday's performance at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, outside Washington, Yoshida correctly spelled "titanium," finishing the second stage of the preliminary round in high spirits.
The 14-year-old correctly spelled "zymoscope" in Tuesday's round. Though she spelled both words successfully, her score in the written test, administered Tuesday, was not sufficient to push her into the group of 41 finalists.