Miss World 2008: The Leading Contenders
Beautiful women battle to be crowned the best in the world
On December 13th, beauty pageant fans will focus their attention on Johannesburg, where some of the world’s finest ladies will fight to become the fairest of them all. Here are the leading contenders, according to Paddy Power, along with the British contenders, all of whom are outsiders:
Click here to place your bets
Miss Ukraine 6/1
Irina Zhuravskaya
18, 176cm
One may think that this chestnut-haired beauty would have enough on her plate as a model, TV weather girl and student, but the eighteen year old is hot favourite to take the Miss World throne too. Unfortunately, she lost the home advantage that helped 2007’s Chinese winner Zhang Zilin when the event was moved to South Africa for security reasons.
Miss Ecuador 10/1
Marjorie Cevallos
22, 183cm
With good looks, the ambition to be a diligent journalist and a shitzu named after a Chinese dictator, Marjorie Cevallos has all the qualities of a Miss World. However, South Americans have only claimed the prize nine times in the competition’s fifty-seven year history, and an Ecuadorian has never won. That said, five of the last ten winners have hailed from a country that had never previously boasted a winner.
Miss Spain 10/1
Patricia Rodríguez
18, 179 cm
After the 2008 success of Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon and the Spanish football team at Euro 2008, the entire hopes of the Spanish nation are now pinned on Miss Rodriguez. Her ambition to combine modeling with a business career in fashion may be aided by her near-perfect vertical measurements - Miss World form aficionados will know already that the average height of the winner over the past four years is 178.5 cm. At 179cm, Patrica Rodriguez is in the sweet spot.
Miss Trinidad & Tobago 12/1
Gabrielle Walcott
24, 171cm
This Caribbean lovely is a sympathy vote machine – she has lost two younger sisters and a maternal aunt, has been held up at gunpoint and claims to have rescued ten stray dogs and cats in her spare time. Unfortunately the stats are not on her side: Trinidad & Tobago haven’t won in twenty-two years, and a Caribbean contestant has won on just one of the five occasions South Africa has hosted the competition (Miss Jamaica in 1993).
Miss Mexico 16/1
Anagabriela Espinoza
20, 178cm
Miss Mexico has an inspirational motto: “Go for what you want, always enjoy the journey and love every step you take.” Despite hailing from a land of beautiful women, her journey may not end quite the way she had hoped; a Mexican has never won Miss World.
Miss South Africa 20/1
Tansey Coetzee
23, 170cm
This sultry brunette will certainly have the least distance to travel for the competition, as she was born and bred in host city Johannesburg. Last year’s pageant was one by the host nation (Zhang Zilin of China), but only on three other occasions (1964, 1965 and 1974) has Miss World been won by a contestant competing on home soil.
Miss England 40/1
Laura Coleman
22, 175cm
The former girlfriend of England cricketer Stuart Broad is representing one of the most successful nations in Miss World history: England, along with India and Venezuela have supplied the most winners (five each), followed by Iceland, Jamaica and Sweden (all on three). Much like last year’s winner Zhang Zilin, Laura is very sporty and keeps herself fit with a healthy mix of cycling, tennis, roller skating and horse riding.
Miss Ireland 40/1
Sinéad Noonan
25, 175cm
This stunning young lady had to get past a judging panel that included the X Factor’s Louis Walsh to beat 37 other hopefuls to become Miss Ireland. She will hope to repeat the success of the Chris de Burgh’s daughter and Miss World 2003 Rosanna Davison, the only Irish lady to ever win the pageant.
Miss Scotland 100/1
Stephanie Willemse
19, 180cm
At just 19 years old, professional model Stephanie has already had the honour of appearing in Vogue magazine and on the catwalk during New York Fashion Week. Traditionally her hair colour has been a hindrance; of the past twenty winners, only five have been blonde. But blondes have made a comeback in recent years – two of the last five winners have sported beautiful fair hair.
Miss Wales 250/1
Chloe Morgan
22, 171cm
Poor Miss Wales. What did she deserve to be joint rank outsider with only the Misses of Mongolia, Ethipoia, Moldova and Botswana featuring longer odds. Well, history is against the Monmouthshire beauty as she represents a country with no luck in this pageant (zero wins). There is a glimmer of hope though from the fact that the last five winners have had an average age of 22.4 – almost exactly the amount of years Miss Morgan has been with us.
Tags: Anagabriela Espinoza, Coetzee, Ecuador, england, Gabrielle Walcott, Ireland, Irina Zhuravskaya, Johannesburg, Laura Coleman, Marjorie Cevallos, Mexico, Miss World, Paddy Power, Patricia Rodríguez, Scotland, Sinéad Noonan, south africa, Spain, Stephanie Willemse, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine
Posted: November 23rd, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | 
2 Responses to “Miss World 2008: The Leading Contenders”
By Perfect Diamond™ on Dec 7, 2008 | Reply
What? No Miss Philippines? Whatever…
By Hannah White on Jan 7, 2009 | Reply
So, our very own Miss England, Laura Coleman appears to be making headlines everywhere…albeit for all the wrong reasons. As I understand it, the concept behind the Miss England beauty award, as well as all other beauty pageants, is to promote things such as charity work and effectively be an ambassador for our country? Someone to shine out England’s beacon of truth, regarding the real issues in today’s society…while also having rather lovely physical attributes? This way, the issues really concerning society, and the world today, are actually listened too and reported about. It appears to me to be an effective and successful means of attracting the attention of both tabloid and OTHER press, whilst concentrating on important world issues. Undoubtedly, photo shoots and catwalks come as part of the package…and it is undoubtedly these incentives that bring in the beauties. Unfortunately for England, our ambassador (as she regards herself on radio derby http://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/content/articles/2008/07/22/laura_coleman_miss_england_feature.shtml ) appears to have forgotten what her role really entails. Let’s take a look back at Laura’s “career” from the very beginning. At 15 years old, Laura entered the modelling world after being signed with one agency in London. Unfortunately, through her own admission, she was rejected by several modelling agencies after being asked to lose weight. With a sensible head on her shoulders, Laura carried on with studies and it appears she never modelled again. Following in the footsteps of both her Mother and her Grandmother, Laura took it upon herself to enter Miss Leicestershire, which she went on to win and therefore automatically was entered into Miss England. Being placed 4th, she returned to her studies and gained a degree in Business and marketing. Brains and Beauty I hear you cry! Perfect ambassador for our country in Miss England! So, after winning Miss Derby in her last year of University, Laura went on to Miss England. Here, she successfully managed to use her unfortunate experiences in the modelling industry to win public votes, and after being crowned Miss England, stated she “Would much rather be a beauty queen than a model any day” Being sensible, Beautiful, and Intelligent it is little wonder Laura was chosen to represent our country to the world.
However, shortly after winning the title, it seems Laura’s initial hostilities towards the fashion industry were forgotten. Regularly appearing in photo shoots for papers such as The Sun, The Daily Star and The Mirror (http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/60561/Miss-England-told-she-is-too-chunky/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/latest/2008/12/13/video-miss-england-laura-coleman-talks-to-mirror-co-uk-115875-20967512/
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1803132.ece)
Laura seems to be somewhat of a hypocrite. It is not only what we see, but what we hear that also implies this: shortly after winning the title, Laura was quoted as saying she “Hopes her new title will help her modelling career” When we look back at Laura’s “modelling career” that she speaks of on both Radio Derby and to The Mirror (http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/latest/2008/12/13/video-miss-england-laura-coleman-talks-to-mirror-co-uk-115875-20967512/ ) I struggle to find evidence of this so called modelling career. I was under the impression that after starting at 15, and being cruelly told her figure was not up to model standard, she left it all behind to concentrate on her studies? Surely that was one of her main arguments in her campaign for votes during the Miss England competition? Furthermore, I find it hard to understand why someone who appeared to be so against the industry from such young age would ever want help making a name for herself in it again? More recently, Laura has been hitting our headlines due to model agencies saying she is “too chunky.” This is a sad and humiliating thing to have to happen to such a beautiful young lady, however why Laura took it upon herself to attempt to re-enter the industry is beyond me. Maybe she felt that having the title of Miss England would make the agencies sit up and take notice at last? Whatever the reason, I find it incredibly hypocritical of her for even entertaining the idea of modelling again after the comments she made to all that voted for her.
As part of the prizes presented to the new Miss England, Laura was given a television presenting course: something she asked them for. I personally feel that television presenting is a great career choice for her, and something she should pursue now she has the opportunity and as much help as she will ever get. However, Laura seems to have let her brains with her degree. It has been reported that she now wants to enter the world of singing and show of her talents at this years x-factor. (http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/latest/2008/12/13/video-miss-england-laura-coleman-talks-to-mirror-co-uk-115875-20967512/ )
I shall hazard a guess, and state that if there was a “Miss Fame Award” our very own Laura Coleman would be right there, being one of the first to apply. Laura has done very little, if any, charity work, and i feel incredibly let down by this years England’s beauty queen. Not only has she effectively lied to win her country over, but she has ignored all the responsibilities that come with such a prestigious title. Any opportunity regarding fame and money that has come Laura’s way, she has taken with both hands and embraced thoroughly. All opportunities she has had to talk about charity, and the real important issues life has to offer, she has utterly wasted. When the Sun quiz her about her up-coming x-factor moment, or when The Daily Star want to hear more about her rejection from top model agencies, instead of being a true ambassador and seizing opportunities to talk to the media about famine, war, or unhealthy eating disorders, Laura only talks about herself, and her own dreams. “Disappointed,” does not even begin to express how I feel about Miss England. I can only hope that next year’s beauty queen will truly have more brains than beauty.