The New Zealand entrant in the US “Olympics of spelling” has been eliminated, although she did not botch her words on stage.

Belinda Gibbon, 14, from Wellington Girls’ College, correctly spelled “terraqueous” meaning consisting of, or formed of, land and water, and “upsilon”, the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet but failed to make it through to the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland today, as her preliminary written test fell short of the pass mark.

Belinda was not alone in her disappointment as from a pool of 275 spellers, only 41 made it through to the semifinals.