You're reading: ​Ukrainian triumphs at Miss Deaf World 2015

Natalia Belan is one special woman.

It’s not just that the 18-year-old is a beauty, and the winner of a Miss World beauty contest held in Prague last month. It’s that she also happens to be deaf.

The native of Melitopol in Zaporizhzhya Oblast won the Miss Deaf World competition in the Czech capital on July 19, fending off close competitors from Belarus and Vietnam. The competition this year was a special one as well – the jubilee 15th year of the event, which was first held in 2001.

“I had an excellent impression of the competition – everyone performed at the highest level,” Belan told the Kyiv Post.

This isn’t the first time the Ukrainian woman has been a winner: She studied at the Kamenka boarding school for deaf children, which is famous at home and abroad for its dance group, which has won numerous competitions. Belan herself is a keen dancer, and is especially fond of oriental styles of dance.

On the way to her victory in Prague, Belan first won the Ukrainian Society of the Deaf UTOG’s regional beauty contest in Zaporizhzhya, and then went on to win the national competition Miss UTOG 2015. After that, she went on to represent Ukraine at the world and European finals of the competition, in which Ukraine has traditionally done well, Belan said.

In fact, Ukraine has pretty much dominated the event over the past 15 years, taking the top spot in the founding year 2001, then again in 2003, 2009, and now in 2015. Ukraine also came second in 2006, and took third in 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2012. Ukraine also won Miss Deaf Europe in 2012 – a competition that has been held since 2009.

And it wasn’t just beautiful deaf women from around the world that came to Prague to compete – the Mr. Deaf World competition, which has been held since 2013, was held in parallel and was this year won by Columbian Camilo Viloria Arrieta.

“The excitement was crazy,” Belan said. “During the contest I was very emotional. There was a packed schedule – we were rehearsing from morning to night. We also went on city tours, and met with the leadership of the city.”

The competition is not just about beauty – it also aims to build international connections among deaf communities around the world and raise awareness about deaf issues. While in Prague, Belan shared a room with Nastia Vyazorskaya, the entrant from Belarus, who came second.

“There weren’t any negative points – at least, I don’t remember any,” Belan said. “The only thing that was very difficult was to find sponsors for the trip to Prague. The trip cost a lot of money. It‘s a pity that not all government officials understand the problems of the deaf.”

But Belan praised the Ukrainian deaf society UTOG, which she said had helped her tackle her problems and did all it could to assist her in her trip to Prague for the competition.

“I also want to say that deaf Ukrainians are the best not only in beauty contests. They participate and win at the international level in various competitions,” Belan added.

Belan now plans to continue her studies at the Kyiv College of Light Industry, where she’s just completed her first year. She hopes to become a fashion designer in future.

Kyiv Post staff writer Faina Nakonechnaya can be reached at [email protected]