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Think fast. You’ll have to if you want to match Jeffrey Weigl. You’ll also have to write fast, too.

The Edmonton court reporter has just been crowned champion at the National Court Reporters Association’s annual speed contest.

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The contest, held every year in the U.S., pits court reporters against each other in a series of tests to see who can take the most accurate transcriptions of dictations. In other words, Weigl is the Usain Bolt of stenography.

Three tests are taken. The first is a literary reading — usually a speech — read at 225 words a minute. The second is similar but involves far more legal jargon — much like the judgment delivered at the end of a trial — at 235 words a minute.

Finally, writers try their best to keep up with a question-and-answer testimony involving two people read at a lightning-fast 280 words a minute.

For comparison, the average person speaks at around 160 to 180 words a minute.

This year, Weigl won all three categories to take home the prize, becoming the first Canadian to do so since the competition began in 1909.

Tke skill isn’t an easy one to grasp.

“It’s kind of like a video game,” said Weigl, whose personal humility is matched only by his professional passion. “It’s like playing the piano but you’re telling me what notes to play as I go.”