MWP 2018 Katarina Rodriguez speaks out about international pageant experience

FILE: “The greatest test of courage in this world is to bear defeat without losing heart.” (Photo: @katarinarodri/Instagram)

Miss World Philippines 2018 Katarina Rodriguez recalls her Miss World 2018 experience in Sanya, China that concluded three months ago to the media, sharing that it was not as pleasant as she expected.

During the press conference for the 26-year-old’s newest film Go! La Union last Tuesday, March 19, the beauty queen was asked by the Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP) on her international competition, Katarina immediately saying that “it wasn’t what [she] thought it was going to be,” and she was aware of that one week prior to her departure from the Philippines. She explains in a mix of English and Filipino, “When you hear Miss World, you think it’s a really traditional pageant. But, if you watch it, it looks like a game show. That’s how it felt when I was there, it was a game show.”

Katarina failed to make it to the Top 30 of the prestigious pageant but recalls Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray’s past with Miss World as well, where she was a heavy favorite but only landed in the Top 5. The Asia’s Next Top Model finalist elaborates, “I think throughout, if you watch [Miss World], you’ll see how the pageant is, the type of pageant it is. I’m sure you remember that Catriona Gray joined. She won all of the awards, but she wasn’t even first runner-up. And I think that speaks for itself because using her experiences as an example and my own experience as an example, you will really see, okay, there’s something that they do differently from the likes of Miss Universe, of Miss International, and the other pageants.”

Miss World 2018 was not the first time Katarina represented the country, finishing first runner-up during Miss Intercontinental 2017 in Egypt. When asked by ABS-CBN News whether she would continue to pursue getting the top crown for her country someday, the Filipino-American joked, “I think that the world – or the universe, rather – has spoken and said my time is up sa (in) pageantry,” adding, “I gave it a good run. I was in pageantry for two years and I enjoyed it very much. If I had known I would have loved it this much, I would have joined earlier on.”