The whole nation was ecstatic
Monday morning when Catriona Gray was announced the winner in the just
concluded 67th Miss Universe pageant held at the Impact Arena, Muang
Thong Thani in Nonthaburi Province, north of Bangkok, Thailand. Many
people stayed at home and shops closed
business for a few hours just to watch
the live telecast.
Catriona Gray, 24, was born in
Queensland, Australia to a Scottish-born Australian father and a Filipina
mother from Albay, Bicol Region in the Philippines. Before joining the national pageant for Miss
Universe, Catriona represented the country at Miss World in 2016 and placed 4th. She won three special awards including Multi-Media
award, 2nd place in talent competition and a top 5 spot in the Beauty
with a Purpose category. Many believed
that she should have placed higher than just being 4th placer and two
years later, she decided to join Bb.
Pilipinas and won the right to represent the country in the Miss Universe
pageant. Catriona was the runaway winner
and mind you, she won 7 special awards.
She is a very articulate young woman and a no nonsense beauty queen
having involved herself in noteworthy projects and advocacies including
HIV/AIDS awareness program and three
years ago, she joined a non-profit organization called “Young Focus” that
helps impoverish children in Manila. She raised funds to buy the building used for the youth organization program and the whole community was jumping with joy when she was proclaimed as the new Miss Universe.
Well-Planned Preparation
Catriona immersed herself in months of preparation with the help of her glam team and sponsors and
everything paid off. She’s a media
sensation even before she set foot in Bangkok for the finals, enjoying media
mileage that no other Filipina beauty queens ever experienced. Wearing a Thai inspired dress, she was
mobbed by fans and supporters when she arrived at Bangkok Chang Mai Airport.
The sensational slow motion Lava
Walk
Catriona stunned the audience at the preliminary competition during the swimsuit round when she walked down the runway doing a twirl that carried her hair moving in a slow motion. Her trainers call it the "lava walk" which was coined after the slow moving lava coming out from the world famous and perfect coned Mayon Volcano in Albay where her mother comes from. Several memes of the "lava walk" surfaced online. She live up to all the hype about her.
Early Favorite
Catriona easily clinched to the top 20 round and climbed all the way to the top and finally the Miss Universe crown was put on her head by outgoing Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa. As expected it was a fierce battle between Miss Philippines and Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green, who was her closest rival from the beginning. She nailed the final Q&A with her simple and on point answer to the final question.
Final Question:
"What was the most important lesson you've learned in your life and how would you apply it to your time as Miss Universe?
She said "I worked a lot in the slums of Tondo, Manila, and the life there is very...it's poor and it's very sad. And I've always taught myself to look for the beauty in it, to look in the beauty in the faces of the children, and to be grateful. And I would bring this aspect as a Miss Universe to see situations with a silver lining and to assess where I could give something, where I could provide something as a spokesperson, and this, I think, if I could teach also people to be grateful, we could have an amazing world where negativity could not grow and foster, and children would have a smile on their faces."
Catriona stunned the audience at the preliminary competition during the swimsuit round when she walked down the runway doing a twirl that carried her hair moving in a slow motion. Her trainers call it the "lava walk" which was coined after the slow moving lava coming out from the world famous and perfect coned Mayon Volcano in Albay where her mother comes from. Several memes of the "lava walk" surfaced online. She live up to all the hype about her.
Early Favorite
Catriona easily clinched to the top 20 round and climbed all the way to the top and finally the Miss Universe crown was put on her head by outgoing Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa. As expected it was a fierce battle between Miss Philippines and Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green, who was her closest rival from the beginning. She nailed the final Q&A with her simple and on point answer to the final question.
Final Question:
"What was the most important lesson you've learned in your life and how would you apply it to your time as Miss Universe?
She said "I worked a lot in the slums of Tondo, Manila, and the life there is very...it's poor and it's very sad. And I've always taught myself to look for the beauty in it, to look in the beauty in the faces of the children, and to be grateful. And I would bring this aspect as a Miss Universe to see situations with a silver lining and to assess where I could give something, where I could provide something as a spokesperson, and this, I think, if I could teach also people to be grateful, we could have an amazing world where negativity could not grow and foster, and children would have a smile on their faces."
Catriona Gray is the 4th
Filipina to win the Miss Universe crown.
The first one was Gloria Diaz in 1969, followed by Margarita Moran in
1973 and just three years ago Pia Wurtzbach won the third Miss Universe crown for
the country.
Rounding the top 5 were Miss South Africa, Miss Venezuela, Miss Vietnam, Miss Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Other finalists were delegates from Costa Rica, Canada, Nepal, Curacao and Thailand.
Delegates from Indonesia, USA, Brazil, Jamaica, Australia, Ireland, Poland, Belgium, Hungary, Great Britain and Ireland made it to the top 20. The Best National Costume went to Miss Laos.
The presentation this year is fantastic. Thailand did an excellent job as a host country showing the Thai elements in a modern setting. Congratulations Thailand, Sawadee Khap and Kho Phung Ka.
Delegates from Indonesia, USA, Brazil, Jamaica, Australia, Ireland, Poland, Belgium, Hungary, Great Britain and Ireland made it to the top 20. The Best National Costume went to Miss Laos.
The presentation this year is fantastic. Thailand did an excellent job as a host country showing the Thai elements in a modern setting. Congratulations Thailand, Sawadee Khap and Kho Phung Ka.
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| Catriona's gorgeous boyfriend Clint Bondad turn heads at the Arena's lobby and was interviewed by the media. |
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| 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzach does a selfie together with former Miss Universe titleholders namely (L-R), Iris Mittenaere (2016 MU - France), Gabriela Isler (2013 MU - Venezuela, Denise Quniones (2001 MU - Puerto Rico), Lupita Jones (MU-1991- Mexico) and Natali Glebova (MU-2015-Canada |
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