Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Eleonora Masalab is crying tears of happiness after just being crowned Miss Ukraine Universe. KP Media, photo by Oleksiy Boyko Ukrainian beauty fails Contest but sees bright future

Universe flew to Vietnam this summer to officially represent her country in the Miss Universe 2008 pageant. She won the honor of Miss Legs in a field of 80 international contestants. Though disappointed about not winning, the 19-year old remains opimistic about her future and is full of ambition and plans.


KP: How did it feel to participate in such a high-profile event and fail to win it?

EM: For the first two days I was bitterly disappointed – and this is a normal reaction in such a situation. Participation in a Miss Universe pageant means that you temporarily give up your life for it. It took me a long time to prepare for it – to sort out all the dresses, to find the best national costume, to learn all the choreography. It’s a pity my eagerness did not yield the result that I wanted.

What added to my disappointment was that from the first day of my trip the Vietnamese people and press paid me a lot of attention and I was their favorite contestant. My pictures appeared on several covers of local magazines. The public and the press predicted my triumph. I wish I lived up to their expectations. But now that I’m finally back home again, I realize that I have something much more important than victory. I have priceless life experience that I can share with my future children and grandchildren. I’m sure this experience will help me win other similar contests, and I plan to do it very soon.


KP: What did you like most about your trip?

EM: The greatest impression during the trip was Vietnam – it’s an amazing country with breathtaking nature and sincere, fun-loving people. The national cuisine is just outstanding, delicious and very cheap!

I regret that during the whole month in Vietnam we didn’t get a single chance to swim in the sea, even though we were just 15 minutes away. We had a very tight schedule. Next year I plan to visit Vietnam again and spend more time discovering some interesting places in this country. It was also great to make friends with so many contestants.


KP: If you were a judge in this contest, would you also have voted for Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela?

EM: Actually I agree with the contest results – the top-five girls are really amazing. But if I had been responsible for the final decision I would have given the crown to Miss Mexico Elisa Najera or to Miss USA Crystal Stewart. As far as I am concerned, they were the most graceful and attractive contestants.


KP: What do you think is the key to winning a beauty pageant such as Miss Universe?

EM: This year’s winner, Dayana Mendoza, is a very positive and cheerful person. She really stood out among others because she was best prepared. She was the only girl who seemed to be perfect all the time: sublime make-up, hair and manicure in every situation. By the way, Venezuela is a record-holder of Miss Universe winners. They even have a special school to prepare future beauty queens.

KP: What are your plans for the future?

EM: For the next two months I plan to do only one thing – rest. After five months of preparation I feel totally exhausted. And after that I have a huge number of propositions to consider – photo and video shoots, modeling and acting. Because of the contest I had no time to think about it, but now I’m open to new and interesting ideas.

My career ambition is to have my own television program and direct it as well, but I also believe that my main mission in life is to create a happy family and bring up many children.

Zoya Lytvyn can be reached at lytvyn@kpmedia.ua