Miss Universe-Philippines Rachel Peters made an early exit at Miss Universe 2017, finishing in the top 10 and ending her quest for the country’s fourth crown in the annual beauty pageant, held at The Axis Theatre in Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada on Monday.
Peters secured a spot in the Top 16 through wildcard and slayed the swimsuit competition. She entered the evening gown round and show off a light bluish-grey Val Taguba gown with high slit, but failed to make it to the Top 5.
Crowd-favorites from Thailand and South Africa advanced to the top 5 round or the question and answer portion, together with candidates from Venezuela, Colombia, and Jamaica.
The last time the Philippines entered only as far as the top 10 was during Mary Jean Lastimosa’s time in Miss Universe 2014.
This extends the country’s placement streak in the pageant to eight editions from Venus Raj in 2010 up to the victory in 2015 of Pia Wurtzbach, who served as one of the judges in this year’s edition.
Meanwhile, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa was crowned Miss Universe 2017, ending an almost four-decade-long drought for her country in the world’s biggest beauty pageants.
The last time South Africa won Miss Universe was in 1978.
In final Question and Answer portion, the top three candidates were asked the question: “What quality in yourself are you most proud of and how will you apply that quality in your time as Miss Universe?”
Nel-Peters answered: “As Miss Universe, you have to be confident in who you are as an individual. A Miss Universe is a woman that has overcome many fears and by that, she is able to help other women overcome their fears. She is a woman that nothing is ever too much is asked for and that’s exactly who I am.”
Colombia’s Laura Gonzalez, an actress and model, ranked first runner-up, and Jamaica’s Davina Bennett, 23-year-old model, finished as the second runner-up.