Katie Kerwin McCrimmon

Katie Kerwin McCrimmon (born 1965 in Denver, Colorado) is a journalist and former reporter/analyst for ESPN. She won the 1979 National Spelling Bee, representing the Rocky Mountain News, by spelling the word "maculature."[1][2][3][4][5][6]

McCrimmon's spelling bee win won her a full scholarship to Colorado College, where she graduated with a degree in journalism in 1987.[2] After college, she began to work for the Rocky Mountain News and served as their Washington, D.C. correspondent until 1996 and continued at the paper until it closed in 2009.[7][8] In the early 1990s, CNN began broadcasting the National Spelling Bee and invited her to be a commentator.[2] ESPN2 began broadcasting the contest in 1994, and McCrimmon became their commentator until 2005.[2][9]

She made a cameo appearance in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Scripps National Spelling Bee list of Champions and Their Winning Words
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Maguire, James (2006). American bee: the National Spelling Bee and the culture of word nerds. Rodale. p. 129. ISBN 1-59486-214-1.
  3. ↑ Associated Press (June 7, 1979). "Spelling Bee is Won by Denver 13-Year Old". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  4. ↑ Associated Press (June 7, 1979). "Under A Spell (photos)". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  5. ↑ United Press International (June 6, 1979). "'Maculature' Is Winning Word". Daily Record (Washington). Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  6. ↑ Reader's Direst 1980 Almanac and Yearbook, p.690 (1980) (ISBN 978-0895770790) ("Katie Kerwin, 13, of Denver, won the National Spelling Bee by spelling "maculature" correctly")
  7. ↑ "Stories by Katie McCrimmon". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  8. ↑ Trinkle, Barrie et al. How to Spell Like a Champ, p.98, 156 (2006) (ISBN 978-0761143697)
  9. ↑ "ESPN carries buzz on spelling bee". Rocky Mountain News. May 29, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  10. ↑ IMDB Full Cast of Akeelah and the Bee

External links

Preceded by
Peg McCarthy		 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner
1979 		Succeeded by
Jacques Bailly