Super-speller Zaila Avant-garde is one special girl.
Appearing onJimmy Kimmel LiveWednesday, the2021 Scripps National Spelling Beechamp showed guest host Phoebe Robinson her basketballandmultitasking skills, dribbling multiple balls while spelling some tricky words. Beyond her spelling savvy, Zaila holds three Guinness World Records for basketball: most dribbles in one minute, most bounces in 30 seconds and most balls dribbled at one time.
“I’ve been working on this since I was five, so I’ve had a lot of time to work my way up to that level,” Zaila told the host, 36.
The talented teen made the feat look easy, but she was in for a big surprise – and even bigger challenge.
jimmy Kimmel live/ youtube
Before correctly spelling “Murraya” to win the live finals atWalt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on July 8, the eighth-grader asked officials an insightful question.
“Does this work contain the English word ‘Murray,’ which is the name of a comedian, or just the English name in general?” she asked last week, eliciting chuckles from those in attendance.
“Bill Murray made the Spelling Bee!” joked Kevin Negandhi, who helped call the event on ESPN2.
Fast forward to Wednesday, and Zaila was introduced to the man she mentioned before spelling her winning word.
Zaila Avant-garde.JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
“I’m really happy for you, Big Zee,“Bill Murraysaid, while appearing virtually from France. “Coincidentally, I spelled your name right the other day.”
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Then, the 70-year-old actor presented the teen with the biggest challenge of herKimmelappearance: dribbling three basketballs while balancing on a foam roller and spelling the word “Portmanteau.”
Pulling it off without a problem, Robinson and Murray were impressed, celebrating her success.
“That a girl!” theGroundhog Daystar said with a smile.
Speaking with PEOPLE after winning the national spelling bee, the super speller toldPEOPLEshe hopes to continue on her athletic journey and go to Harvard University “as a basketball player and student,” as she believes it’s “a good way to open doors to maybe being anNBAbasketball coach” one day.
But her passions don’t stop there, either. “I likeworking with NASAand doing gene editing. I have a lot of different things I’m interested in,” Zaila added.
source: people.com
