Why Miss South Africa Rolene Strauss may not win the Miss World crown

All the important indicators are pointing to her outright win – one of the Top 20 in Top Model contest, Top 10 in Beauty with a Purpose and third place winner in Sports challenge. She wowed the audience with her public speaking skills during the Oxford debate. She is from a nation that could host the Miss World pageant, not to mention that it did host the pageant multiple times. And horrors of all horrors for her competitors, she evened managed to be on the Top 10 of the official Miss World People’s Choice poll!

One can indeed see that Rolene Strauss of South Africa will simply breeze through the Miss World 2014 contest and claim the victory largely unopposed. And the thing is, she deserves to become the next Miss World! Rolene is just a perfect candidate to wear the blue crown but with perfection comes her biggest problem. History shows us that the contestant that is leading in many aspects of the Miss World pageant may not become the runaway winner after all.

In 2010, Miss Norway Mariann Birkedal was the second runner-up in Beach Beauty, 3rd placer at Sports and the overall winner of the Top Model contest. She eventually settled for sixth place. Rumors had it that the awarding of Nobel Prize, which is headquartered in Oslo, to a Chinese dissident prevented Norway’s victory as Miss World was hosted by China.

In 2012, Miss Wales Sophie Moulds was the winner of Beach Beauty, one of the Top 46 in Top Model and finished Top 10 in Beauty with a Purpose. She was clearly the frontrunner of the competition but instead settled for a first princess place.

In 2013, Miss France Marine Lorphelin was the obvious leading candidate (although the tally of the scores revealed that Megan Young was the clear leader) as she managed to be the first runner-up in Beach Beauty, 2nd runner-up in Top Model, Top 10 in Beauty with a Purpose and the overall winner in Evening Wear. No other candidate can claim better placements in many of the critical contests prior to the finals other than Marine. In the end, Megan beat Marine perhaps by the smallest of margins.

These recent events prove that being in the lead in various contest and challenges leading to the finals does not automatically give you a crown. However, Rolene could take comfort on the fact that Miss Venezuela Ivian Sarcos was a leading candidate in 2011 paving way to Ivian’s ultimate victory. But it must be taken into note that Ivian was neither the winner of Beach Beauty and Top Model contests – two contests that are touted to be the most critical in deciding the winner.

Also, Ivian fits in with that so-called Miss World prototype – sweet beauty. Rolene however is not a sweet beauty and falls in the same category with the looks of Marine, Sophie and Mariann – strong, independent, and sophisticated. And that is a clear bane for Rolene.

The most likely scenario at Miss World 2014 is that an unexpected beauty will simply shine during the finals and win the crown. It will be a fitting addition to the series of surprises this year. This is not to say that Rolene is already doomed. Her chances in winning the crown are pretty high. However, it is good to remind her and her supporters that surprises are just lurking in the corner.

Rolene is just a perfect candidate to wear the blue crown but with perfection comes her biggest problem. History shows us that the contestant that is leading in many aspects of the Miss World pageant may not become the runaway winner after all