May 28, 2007, live at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City the new queen of the universe was crowned. Riyo Mori, 20, a dance instructor from Japan bested 76 others for the most coveted Mikimoto crown. Completing her court are Brazil’s Natalia Guimaraes (1st runner up), Venezuela’s Lydimar Jonaitis (2nd runner up), Korea’s Honey Lee (3rd runner up) and USA’s Rachel Smith (4th runner up). This year’s pageant shows a remarkable success for the Asian delegates as they swept both major and minor awards. Aside from Japan’s triumph, 3 other ladies from Asia made it to the semifinal list and two others bagged the special awards.
After a pre-pageant judging held a few days before the final’s night, 15 ladies who stood out in the 3 pageant categories, namely the swimsuit competition, the evening gown competition and the Q and A, were named semifinalists. The lucky ones who made it to this lists are : Angola, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Nicaragua, Slovenia, Tanzania, Thailand, Ukraine, USA and Venezuela. 4 Asians, 4 Latinas, 4 Europeans, 2 Africans and Miss USA.
The 15 semifinalists were made to compete in the swimsuit round.
Their scores are as follows:
Japan : 9.599
Brazil : 9.560
Korea : 9.458
Tanzania : 9.223
Angola : 9.150
USA : 8.995
India : 8.548
Mexico : 8.527
Nicaragua : 8.171
Slovenia : 8.163
Czech Republic : 8.113
Denmark ; 7.969
Thailand : 7.940
Ukraine : 7.900
The ladies in the bottom 5 were eliminated and those who remained made up the Top 10 finalists. After the elimination, it was quite obvious that the European delegates delivered a weak performance as all 4 of them were eliminated together with Miss Thailand.
Those who made it to the Top 10 were then made to compete in their evening gown.
The result of their performances are as follows :
Brazil : 9.599
Venezuela : 9.510
Korea : 9.183
Japan : 8.943
USA : 8.754
Tanzania : 8.488
Angola : 8.363
Mexico : 7.850
India : 7.825
Nicaragua : 7.674
Once again, the bottom 5 were eliminated. This time the 2 representatives from Africa were axed together with hometown girl Miss Mexico. Advancing to the final 5 were Brazil, Japan, Korea, USA and Venezuela. To decide who among the top 5 will become Miss Universe, they were made to compete in the question and answer portion. All 5 made good answers but the one who impressed the judges the most is Miss Japan. With the aid of an interpreter she said that in her life as a dancer she has learned how to be happy, patient and positive and that is what she wants to teach the future generation.
After the Q&A, the winners of the night were announced.
4th Runner up : USA – Rachel Smith
3rd Runner up : Korea – Honey Lee
2nd Runner up : Venezuela – Lydimar Jonaitis
1st Runner up : Brazil – Natalie Guimaraes
Miss Universe 2007 : Japan – Riyo Mori
4th Runner up : USA – Rachel Smith
3rd Runner up : Korea – Honey Lee
2nd Runner up : Venezuela – Lydimar Jonaitis
1st Runner up : Brazil – Natalie Guimaraes
Miss Universe 2007 : Japan – Riyo Mori
Mori’s triumph is her country’s second after 48 years. The first Japanese to be crowned Miss Universe is Akiko Kojima in 1957. Kojima was the first Miss Universe from Asia and the Far East.
