By Tatiana Pastukhova
Of the 20 girls in the semi-final, Nanthawan Wannachutha from Thailand came second, Michaela Dihlova from the Czech Republic came third, Elaine Kay Moll from the Philippines came fourth, and Sulay Castillo from Ecuador came fifth, competing against representatives from Spain, Puerto Rico, South Africa, England, Honduras, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Canada, Panama, Poland, Costa Rica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Island, France and Suriname.
Special awards went to Rwanda (Miss Personality), Canada (Top Model), Portugal (Elegance), Namibia (Friendship), Cuba (National Costume), Denmark (Talent) and the Czech Republic (Photogenic).
‘Miss Supranational Africa’ went to Michelle Giden-Huys, from South Africa, while the most beautiful girl in the Americas is Elissa Estrada from Panama; for Asia, L?i Huong Th?o from Vietnam was chosen and Europe’s top beauty is from Denmark.
Yekaterina Buraya is from Bobruisk and graduated from Minsk State Linguistic University this year, as a specialist in inter-cultural relations in the travel industry. She loves reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez and is keen on sport; recently, she has taken up boxing. TV viewers know her from ‘Miss Belarus-2008’, where she reached the final. She is often compared to famous fashion model Claudia Schiffer for her looks.
‘Miss Supranational’ is one of the most famous pageants in the world. For quite some time, it was held exclusively in Latin America but, since 2009, has moved to Europe. It is now among the top three most popular pageants, perhaps due to its very strict selection methods. Only the very best are honoured with the right to represent their country. The organisers of the show studied portfolios of Miss Belarus contestants from previous years, with blue-eyed blonde Yekaterina Buraya catching their eye. Their choice has proven wise, as she now has international recognition via the prestigious beauty contest.
This year, only 54 girls took part rather than the usual 70; ‘Miss Slovakia’ dropped out of the tough rehearsal schedule, leaving 53 girls to continue. In 2011, Poland’s Monika Lewczuk won but, in the past, Belarusians have twice been first runners up: Marina Lepesha (2009) and Lyudmila Yakimovich (2011).
