It was Bismarck that sank Justin Bergen in the fifth round of the 2011 Postmedia Canspell National Spelling Bee on Sunday.
The 12-year-old Bulkley Valley Christian School student spelled the name of the infamous German chancellor and Second World War battleship "Bismark." Forgetting the 'c' ended Bergen's run at the national spelling championship.
The Smithers native earned his place among the top 21 spellers in Canada by winning the Prince George Citizen Regional Spelling Bee in February.
Bergen knew German words were his weakness heading into the national bee.
Competitors are given a study guide that focuses on about 1,150 words, divided into sections by language of origin.
In Prince George Bergen faced off against Cynthia Dykhuizen, a 13-year-old Grade 8 student at Quesnel Junior Secondary, in the final round. Dykhuizen won the local competition in 2010 with "Wagnerian" - a word that intimidated Bergen.
"I practiced German and I wasn't doing very well but I knew that one [Wagnerian] because I'd got it wrong [during practice] and then I got it right," Bergen told the Citizen in February.
In the Prince George competition earned Bergen a $5,000 cheque from the Egg Farmers of Canada and the trip to Toronto for Postmedia Canspell national final.
It's quite a change from past experiences with spelling bees.
"In the last two years I couldn't get past the school bee," Bergen said, adding he misheard some words and misspelled them as a result.
Bergen could not be reached for comment as of this web exclusive update. See Monday's issue of the Citizen for full coverage.
