The 70th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 28–29, 1997, sponsored by the E.W.
Thirteen-year-old Rebecca Sealfon, from Brooklyn, New York, won the competition in the 22nd round by correctly spelling the word "euonym".
[5] Second-place went to 11-year old Prem Murthy Trivedi of Howell, New Jersey, who misspelled "cortile," and third to 13-year old Sudheer Potru of Beverly Hills, Michigan, who was unable to spell "pachymeter" in the 14th round.
[6][1] Sealfon had a chance to win in the 17th round, but missed "dulcinea", causing the final two spellers to continue spelling.
Six spellers were making a third appearance at a national bee, and 42 were second-time participants.