Rolene Strauss Miss World Winner - A 22 years old South African medical student has been crowned Miss World at the ExCeL London Exhibition and Convention Centre on Sunday night.
"South Africa this is for you," Miss World 2014 Rolene Strauss said. "I think I will brace myself for what's about to happen it's a huge responsibility."
The dazzling beauty trumped 120 other contestants to win the coveted crown. She was closely followed by Hungary's Edina Kulcsar in the first runner-up position and the US' Elizabeth Safrit in third place. The rest of the Miss World 2014 top 10 contestants came from Australia, England, Guyana, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico and India respectively.
Rolene Strauss, the Miss World 2014 winner, said she plans to focus on spreading education, particularly in her homeland South Africa. She credited her success to her strong educational background and noted that she would love to give others the same chance to make the right choices and also fulfill their aspirations.
The Miss World 2014 competition was one of the biggest ever editions of the global pageant. Pundits say up to 1 billion people are believed to have tuned in to the program, which was streamed live to mobile devices, tablets and other gadgets.
Rolene Strauss, the Miss World winner, is the third South African national to be donning the colorful crown. It has been about four decades since the last South African Anneline Kriel was crowned the winner of the beauty pageant after the original winner - Great Britain's Helen Morgan - was disqualified.
Rolene Strauss, the Miss World winner, was worn her crown by 2013 Miss World Mehan Young, who made history on the night by being the first reigning queen to host the prestigious pageant.
Miss World 1994 Aishwarya Rai was also honored on the night for her role in helping children with cleft lips with her crown. Meanwhile, reports indicate that Rolene Strauss and other contestants of the 2014 Miss World pageant will visit Honduras to build a school in honor of Maria Jose Alvarado, the late Miss Honduras, who was murdered along with her sister only a few days before leaving for London to take part in the competition.
