For Rachel Christie, that dream is still at least three years away. In the meantime, however, the 20- year-old niece of Linford Christie has just won another title – becoming the first ever black Miss England.
The professional track and field athlete swapped her running gear for high heels and a glamorous dress to win the contest on Monday night.
It means 5ft 10in Miss Christie will have to juggle her training schedule again as she prepares to face another hurdle – a bid for the Miss World crown in South Africa later this year.
But her win was under something of a cloud after the contest's website showed that she had gained only nine votes in the public voting part of the competition, compared with fellow finalist Zoiey Smale, who got 2,013.
Although 20-year-old Miss Smale won the public vote, that was only enough to secure her a place in the last 15 of the final. In the event, she did not finish in the top three.
Part-time model Miss Christie had been one of the favourites to win Miss England, after being crowned Miss London City in May.
But she nearly did not make the contest after a car crash on Friday left her with whiplash and bruised legs. More used to being put through her paces on the running track – by her uncle or his former coach, Ron Roddan – Miss Christie was yesterday getting used to a whirl of beauty pageant publicity.
Speaking of her win, which she greeted with tears, she said: 'It means the world; it really does mean so much to me.
'One of my reasons for doing Miss England in the first place was because I wanted to show people, the younger generation especially, that you can do something positive with your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment