Spellers from Ghana have been competing in the bee for nine years, but no one has ever come as far as speller 49, Afua Ansah.

Afua misspelled "Liechtenstein" and is out. But before the finals began, she and her sponsor said they were thrilled to have gotten this far. She had a cheering section in the audience.

"I'm confident," she said. "I'm going to try my best. Hopefully, my best should be good enough."

Still, she said, there was a "really heavy weight on my shoulders."

"I hope I take the crown," she said.

Wednesday, the first day of competition, was Africa Union Day said her sponsor, Eugenia Tachie-Menson. That meant a day off work, and a lot of people at home were watching the bee.

"She made history," her sponsor said. "Lots of people are wishing her well."

The whole experience, she said, "truly is rewarding."

"She's brought so much honor, not just for her country, but for the continent," Tachie-Menson said.