Miss Earth 2005 >
If
Only
She
was
There...
"I really have no idea why I
didn't make it. I mean, the
Filipinos... everyone here loves me. I cannot go back to my country without a
crown." Yevgeniya
"Jane" Rudenko lets everyone know how hurt & stunned she was when her name
wasn't called as one of the Top 16 semifinalists.
Indeed, Jane is one of the best delegates to ever enter the Miss Earth scene in Manila. According to the renowned Funfare beauty experts of a leading local broadsheet,
"Miss Ukraine-Earth, 20,
5'7", 110 lbs., 34-24-35, has the most vibrant personality among the girls which endeared her to the photographers & journalists covering the
event."
"My mom keeps me informed of the kind of support & reviews that I receive in various websites through her daily phone calls.
It's really
overwhelming!"
Even Miss Ukraine herself is aware of her popularity to the press & pageant fans over the internet. In the Miss Earth
candidates' appearances in various sites in the Philippines, the locals would surround
"Jane" and compliment her gorgeous features. But what went wrong? How come an almost perfect contestant gets snubbed in a major pageant like Miss Earth? Prepare yourselves as we try to unravel & analyze the mystery behind her shutout at the 2005 edition of Miss Earth.
A BREAKDOWN OF GOOD POINTS
The Ukrainian delegate has a lot of good qualities that we thought would bring her on top. In our final review, we quoted: "Miss Ukraine-Earth is as gregarious and silly as she is sexy. The life of the party, she recognizes the fact that she belongs in the spotlight, and has thus marketed herself effortlessly. She reminds us a lot of the moves, bearing & spunk of Miss Universe 1996 Alicia Machado of Venezuela. The entire Venezuela met their match in this highly attractive Ukrainian bombshell! Jane has a strong support system, which helps her feel secured of herself."
The 5th edition of Miss Earth marked great improvement in terms of quality of contestants being sent by participating countries. The pageant has also shown that many contestants had a hard time to be noticed but Miss Ukraine was an exception. She was very capable of making an independent name for herself because of her beauty, confidence & gregariousness. Jane can even outclass (the remarkable) Estonia's Evelyn Mikomagi in terms of oomph & playful charisma.
Proof to her undeniable presence is the fact that she managed to place in all preliminary competitions. But it's not all about good looks & charms, we discovered through our interviews with her that she is actually sophisticated & speaks perfect English.
Back in Ukraine, she is majoring in international economics & marketing and is an apprentice of Dion Advertising Agency. She also confessed that being overloaded
didn't hinder her career as a model and as an established host of Mega Drive auto show at the Mega Sport National TV Channel in her country. For Jane, she cannot imagine life without books. Her biggest hobby is reading, as she believes that every good book opens secrets of the world to you.
NOBODY IS PERFECT
"Thank you, I really need
it," we overheard her express of thankfulness when a fan wished her luck few days before the coronation night. Jane, who is actually very confident, surprised us when she showed signs of worriment. We found out later on that she got involved in an unpleasant incident with Ricky Reyes, the man behind the official Make-up Artist & Hairstylist of the Miss Earth pageant. It was reported that Jane irritably tried to thump the latter when he admiringly coddled her hair. She got the wrong idea about whom she was dealing with, as this major sponsor of the pageant is very low-key with the way he presents himself. As a repercussion, Jane was tagged notorious among the contestants.
MISS PERSONALITY
"I will never be the last as I never stand in
line." It's probably this motto of Jane that best influences her work, and giving her the flair to attract attention. She always seems to be at the center of the universe & is very uninhibited. Surely, some people might feel that this isn't much of a virtue. In the swimsuit competition, Jane exhibited lack of restraint as she strutted & posed like a garish Hawaiian Tropic contestant. Afterwards, we caught the other candidates making fun of her by mimicking her signature moves. Was it also an indication that she failed to bond with some of her co-candidates? Another incident to stress this point occurred during Miss
Earth's final rehearsals. When the choreographer erratically announced Miss Ukraine as the mock-Miss Congeniality, a group of candidates particularly at the P-zone laughed boisterously. We felt sorry for Jane who was visibly hurt, trying to hold her tears as she took her spot on stage. Many people frequently misinterpret
Jane's nature. In a pageant like Miss Earth, personality counts a lot since the chaperons are allotted with score sheets to assess the behavior of the girls throughout the pre-pageant activities. Even the organizers play a huge part in selecting the semifinalists.
JANE RUDENKO = DZEJLA GLAVOVIC
Speaking of Miss
Earth's history, the second Miss Earth winner Dzejla Glavovic of Bosnia & Herzegovina (2002) got dethroned for her failure to perform the duties required for the title. The coronation night of Miss Earth 2002 was perhaps the most controversial as it was marred by gripping drama, with all the candidates walking out of the stage when Dzejla was proclaimed winner. They criticized her for allegedly being "antisocial." One of the candidates argued that Dzejla never planted a single tree and that all she did was sleep in her room, call in sick and spend two hours for makeup. Months after winning the crown, allegations were deemed true as she started refusing to attend important functions, consequently forcing some of the
pageant's major sponsors of backing out. The threats prompted the organizers to unseat Dzejla. Miss Earth-Air Winfred Omwakwe assumed her title.
We can connect Miss
Ukraine's sudden exclusion to the semifinals with
Dzejla's story. We consider Miss Ukraine as a very strong contender for the crown. She is naturally compelling, and not just because of her winsome qualities, but rather how she utilizes them to take full advantage of her desirability. If only she made it as a semifinalist, we are confident that she would own the stage & perhaps walk away with the title. Whenever she performs onstage, she can make the judges forget all the other girls. Just like Amelia Vega or Dzejla Glavovic,
she's also very sure of herself, and can easily earn the approval of judges. Therefore, it can be assumed that the organizers wanted to avoid history to repeat itself, and the only way to do it is keep Jane out of the semifinal line-up.
In the end, she was awarded some sort of consolation with the Best in Talent award during the grand coronation night. She may have missed the cut but Jane departed in a way that could be described as ego inflating. After
the
announcement
of
the
top
16
semifinalists, she settled on her spot while all candidates went backstage. To complete her vengeance, she marched towards the uppermost
mid-platform
of
the
stage, happily wagged her booty for the audience, and bequeathed a very emotional bow.
Jane will be remembered for her personality that screams
"girlish joie de
vivre" - the unconventional kind that you may love or hate. Ukraine should not waste this beauty by letting her compete again in other prestigious pageants since ex-Miss Universe & Miss World contestants are also being sent to Miss Earth. She can definitely make a name for herself all over again & perhaps give her country its long-awaited crown and become a future
Trump's angel.
"We need to realize as soon as possible that the borders on the Earth are political
and can be seen only in the maps. In fact there are NO BORDERS either on earth,
or on water, or in air. Our Earth is a huge ship. If we try to understand each
other, to help and cooperate, it will go in the right direction. Bon voyage!"
– Miss Ukraine-Earth 2005
Special thanks to
Miss
Ukraine-Earth
Committee