Who says you can't have beauty and brawn?

By PENNY STRETTON

Superfit Sarah Davies is on a mission to break down the stereotype of a typical beauty queen - and she's using brute force to do it. The stunning 21 year-old has qualified for the Commonwealth Games as a weightlifter - while also competing in beauty pageants. Sarah, a full-time PE teacher, from Leeds says she is passionate about changing the image of women by taking part in two very contrasting roles. She said: 'I hope that because I'm so far from the stereotypical beauty queen, young people will realise that the way to get the body you want isn't through starving yourself.

'I also like that one breaks the stereotype of the other, as people think female weightlifters should be really butch looking and beauty queens should be tall, blonde and rake thin. 'It shows you don't have to be manly to enjoy the sport and you don't have to be skinny to be a beauty queen. They're both great fun and anyone can do it. 'I hope that my training as a weightlifter will help people realise that beauty pageants have come a long way since the 1970s because I think outside of the pageant community, a lot of people think they are still really outdated. 'Since I started, my arms hardly look any different because you use the strength in your legs and bum. 'I also hope that my success in pageants will encourage more girls to take up weightlifting. 'It's very important in pageants now to have a healthy body and active lifestyle and not to have a stick-thin, starved figure we used to see." Sarah, a former Miss Leeds, qualified for this summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow after totalling 190kg with a 83kg snatch and 107kg clean and jerk in the English Weightlifting Championships.

Her first foray onto the catwalk came in March 2012 when she won Miss Leeds as a student in the city. At the moment she spends 20 hours a week training for weightlifting while also preparing for the required charity events in the Miss England event. Sarah is currently working as a supply teacher at Temple Moor High School in Leeds, West York’s she added: 'It can be hectic trying to fit everything but I am lucky that the timing of the school day means I can fit everything in at the best time for me.

'Schools are usually supportive as they like to have an elite athlete as a teacher to be a role model to the pupils.' Sarah said her weightlifting helped her land the Miss Leeds title as she had something different to offer, and other girls in the competition come to her for advice on exercise. She said: 'Weightlifting has toned up my body and I'm in much better shape now I've been training. I think that's really helped with the beauty pageants I've been in, especially with the swim suit rounds. I absolutely love doing both and it's great that they work well together, even if it is an unusual mix.'

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Yulia Alipova from Balakovo wins Miss Russia crown

© Photo: RIA Novosti

Yulia Alipova, a resident of the town of Balakovo (Saratov region), has won the Miss Russia-2014 beauty contest.

Fifty girls took part in the contests’ final show held at the Barvikha Luxury Village concert hall near Moscow.
Alipova, 23, is a cum laudae graduate of a lyceum specializing in mathematics and physics. She scored the maximum 100 points for her graduation test in the Russian language as well. The Miss Russia-2014 continued her studies at the Moscow Power Engineering University. She is a heat power engineer and a certified Russian-English interpreter. Last year, she took part in the development of a noise absorber for an electric power plant operated by Mosenergo.

Alipova received the Miss Russia gold crown studded with gems and pearls from the hands of Miss Russia-2013 Elmira Abdrazakova, Miss World-2013 Megan Yang and Miss Universe-2013 Gabriela Isler along with a $100,000 cash award, a luxury car and a change to represent Russia at the Miss World and Miss Universe contests.

Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagan to host Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen pageant

By Mia Watkins | mwatkins@al.com

Former Miss America and Alabama native Mallory Hagan will serve as the host for the Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen Pageant over the weekend. The pageant will take place Saturday, March 1 and Sunday, March 2 at the B.B. Comer Memorial High School auditorium. Two groups of 46 contestants will compete in the talent, onstage question, physical fitness and evening wear portions of the pageant both days starting at 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m.

Hagan, along with current Miss Alabama Outstanding Teen, Jessica Procter and Miss Alabama Chandler Champion will all perform during the pageant. Hagan, an Opelika native, competed in the competition in the mid-2000s, according to a press release.

The top fifteen semi-finalists will compete in the evening wear portion on Sunday at 2 p.m., while the top ten will compete in both talent and physical fitness. The top five will also be announced Sunday. Miss Alabama contestants will also be introduced during the competition.

Fmr. Miss America talks anorexia, strives to help women nationwide

By Darlene Hill

From magazines to models, society has an image of what they think pretty is. "I think that being thin in this culture is highly glamorized, and the truth is, that to be on a diet all of the time, to be obsessed with food and weight loss, is not a way to live," said Kirsten Haglund, Former Miss America of 2008. Haglund struggled with an eating disorder at an early age. She was a 12 year ballet dancer who thought she was too fat.Three years later, Haglund's parents discovered her secret: she was anorexic. "That was my life, but my parents showed me that I was deteriorating not only my physical health but my mental health as well. I was depressed. I pushed my friends and family away and I was just a totally different person," Haglund said.When Haglund received her crown in 2008, she made ‘Eating Disorder Awareness' her passion and platform. 

Haglund travels all around the country, talking to women ages 18 to 24 about eating disorders and body images. The Former Miss America said that parents everywhere should listen if the topic comes up. She also said to watch your child's eating habits because eating too much or not enough will tell you something.
"Some of the signs to look for are [an] obsession with calories and [an] obsession of weight loss method. [Also] over exercising, frequent trips to the bathroom after eating, hiding food or hoarding food, eating in private or avoiding situations that involve food," said Haglund.

Lavetta Schneider is crowned 2014 Mrs. Nevada America

By Robin Leach

Congratulations to Lavetta Schneider, who won Sunday night’s 2014 Mrs. Nevada America Pageant at Sam’s Town. Lavetta is a hair artisan at Michael Boychuck’s salon Color at Caesars Palace. Lavetta has worked on hairstyling for Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Jenny McCarthy and Nicole Scherzinger, plus, music videos for Billy Ray Cyrus, Terry Fator and Kid Rock. Lavetta’s husband of 18 months, Stephan, is general manager of Wet Republic at MGM Grand. She arrived at the Mirage in 2007 from Los Angeles and has worked for Michael since 2011. “The Strip has become my home, and that was why I represented the unincorporated town of Paradise in Clark County,” she told me. “It was my very first pageant,” she laughed. “The 2011 winner encouraged me to give it a shot.

“My husband said that he would support me fully if I gave it all my heart to win. I still can’t believe it happened, even though I worked really hard. It’s still a dream the morning after; I am still in a state of shock.” Lavetta now represents Nevada at the 2014 Mrs. America Pageant in Tucson in August. Lavetta’s platform is anti-bullying, and she promotes the organization Nevada People Empowering People. Lavetta also is an educational director of the online Michael Boychuck Hair Academy and appears in his videos. Michael has become a fixture in the pageant community and helped with many Nevada pageant winners, including Jill Barnhart, Mrs. Nevada United States 2013; Lauren Hudman, Miss Nevada Teen USA 2008; Georgina Vaughan, Miss Nevada USA 2009; Kristie Gulia-Jelinsky, Mrs. Nevada America 2012; and Amanda Kouretas, Mrs. Nevada America 2011. Michael also is a sponsor of the Miss Nevada USA Pageant, working with executive director Shanna Moakler and winners Jade Kelsall and Chelsea Caswell. As a judge of the Miss California USA Pageant in 2011, he helped select Alyssa Campanella, who won and went on to become Miss USA.

Miss Alabama USA 2014 Jesica Ahlberg on Katherine Webb, her movie cameos and her new title

By Mia Watkins

Jesica Ahlberg may have acted next to Ryan Reynolds and may call Katherine Webb a friend, but that’s not the coolest thing she’s done recently. The 24-year-old began her official reign as Miss Alabama USA 2014 Saturday, Nov. 16. “It was just the most overwhelming feeling,” she said. “It’s so hard to describe, maybe a mixture of just shock and joy. I couldn’t believe it. It’s something I’ve wanted for so long.” She began her pageant career in Florida as a teenager.

“I was never a pageant girl,” she said. “I was asked by a friend to do one of the local preliminary pageants. I did it for fun, I wore my prom dress and I ended up winning,” she said. She was eventually named the second runner-up in last year's Miss Alabama USA pageant. Throughout her journeys in the Miss USA pageant network and her most recent competition, she said she made plenty of friends who also celebrated her win along with almost 30 of her loved ones. “The greatest feeling of the night, though, was after I’d won and they crowned me I just remember turning around and then seeing all of the new friends that I had made running towards me and jumping all over me. That was the coolest thing ever,” she said. One of those pageant friends includes fellow Auburn grad and Miss Alabama USA 2012 Katherine Webb. Ahlberg calls her a good friend. “She helped me a lot along the way,” she said. “She helped me pick out wardrobe; she let me borrow a lot of her jewelry.” Ahlberg said she admires how her friend has handled sudden fame. “She’s a really good person,”she said.” I see some of the things that people tweet at her and write on her Instagram and it hurts my feelings for her because she really does have a good heart and she’s not trying to ride the coattails of the football team.” In addition to her newest role as beauty queen, Ahlberg also maintains a career as an actress and a model.

Ahlberg ‘s career began in a very 21st century, internet-savvy way: through Google. “I didn’t know anything about it, but I’ve always wanted to do it,” she said. “I took it upon myself to Google and figure out everything myself.” She dove into the acting world by reading books on acting and working with UAB’s Artplay. She began with a job as an extra on the show “Drop Dead Gorgeous.” She soon followed up with parts on “Necessary Roughness” with John Stamos and “Banshee” on Cinemax. She also has a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and a part in the newest “Spongebob Squarepants” movie. On the modeling side, she is currently the “Sleeping Face” for Delta Airline’s Business Elite class. “Acting is just what I absolutely love to do, so I hope that keeps growing,” she said.
When she’s not acting or fulfilling her Miss Alabama USA duties, she volunteers with the Better Basics program in Birmingham to promote literacy. Ahlberg works with a class at Hayes K-8 School to motivate students to read. She said reading has always been important to her. “It’s a great way to further yourself in life and it’s very important to education,” she said. In the meantime, she said she will continue all of her endeavors while working with trainers and sponsors to prepare for next year’s Miss USA pageant. “It’s such an honor to be chosen to represent the state at the Miss USA pageant,” she said.

Colombe Akiwacu Crowned Miss World Rwanda 2014

Colombe Akiwacu was crowned Miss Rwanda 2014 at the conclusion of the pageant held on February 22 2014 at the Petit Stade in the capital Kigali. The 20-year-old student from the Eastern Province stands 1.75 m. Colombe will represent Rwanda for the first time ever in the Miss World 2014 pageant, scheduled for November in London, England.

Miss USA Erin Brady on Pageant Fashion: ‘It’s Definitely Modernizing’

BY MEGHAN BLALOCK

Beauty pageants aren’t exactly a hotbed for forecasting the next season’s big runway trends, but it is true that more and more pageant contestants (and winners!) are opting to forego the traditionally sparkly, sequin pageant dresses for more high-fashion runway (and sometimes, even couture) looks. Miss USA Erin Brady wore a custom-made Sherri Hill dress (a brand loved by celebrities like Selena Gomez,Bella Thorne, and more) for her big win last June (below), so she knows this better than anyone.

“Pageant dresses are a lot of glitz, glam, and beading, and I think that’s great, but I love that runway is couture,” Brady told StyleCaster at the launch party for Richard Chai’s collaboration with leather designer Andrew Marc at Scoop in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. “You can stand out in a different way that catches somebody’s eye without having all the glitz and glam.” “I’m actually happy to see that pageants are transitioning more into red carpet looks rather than that stereotypical pageant look,” she added. “It’s great to see that people are really looking at the styles and the different influences of each season and really trying to incorporate that into their looks more. It’s more couture and high-fashion, and it’s modernizing, which I think is great. It makes people look at pageants in a different light, and they get more attention from the fashion industry when they see things like that.”

So will we be seeing more and more couture on the stage at events like Miss USA and Miss Universe? Brady tells StyleCaster that she loved many of the dresses from Zang Toi’s glamorous Fall 2014 lineup, so keep your eyes peeled come June when she hosts the big competition!

Emerson College Sweeps the 2014 Miss Boston & Miss Cambridge Pageant

by Lauren Landry
Associate Editor, BostInno, Streetwise Media

Emerson College swept the 2014 Miss Boston and Miss Cambridge Pageant Sunday, with an alumna and current graduate student capturing the coveted crowns. Meagan Fuller and Michelle Nigro won the titles of Miss Boston and Miss Cambridge, respectively. Fuller is pursuing a masters in health communication at Emerson, while Nigro serves as a communications associate for Dhar Law, LLP, as well as the firm's nonprofit incubator, The Next Mile Project.

The two were among 16 other contestants, getting glitzed and glammed up before receiving a pep talk from last year's Miss Boston and Miss Cambridge, Morgan Berg and Carrie Sunde. Prior to the 2014 pageant, Berg posted a photo on Instagram, admitting that, although she was sad to realize this was the last day of wearing the crown, she is "excited to see what else is in store."

Nigro and Fuller each received a $1,500 academic scholarship, as well as a second scholarship and prize package worth more than $10,000. Throughout the year, the two will also be given the opportunity to further promote the platforms they entered the contest supporting: Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer and Fuller's personal platform "Knocking Out Dropping Out: Promising Youth Success in School." Sunday's pageant, held at the Omni Parker House Hotel, was an official preliminary to the Miss Massachusetts and Miss America contests. And for Fuller and Nigro, that means the weekend's win could be the first of many. "Can't thank everyone who helped me on my road to [Miss Boston] enough," Nigro tweeted out prior to donning the crown. For those who missed Sunday's festivities, we've gathered up photos of all the behind-the-scenes events, including the 2014 Princess Party, where contestants were able to decorate cupcakes and crowns with mini pageant princesses.

Miss Sulawesi Barat wins Miss Indonesia 2014

Source: Tribune News, Indonesia

Miss Sulawesi Barat, 22 year old Maria Asteria Sastrayu defeated 33 other delegates to win the Miss Indonesia 2014 title last night. She was crowned by outgoing title holder and Miss World 2013 top 10 finalist Vania Larissa and the reigning Miss World, Megan Young from the Philippines. Sastrayu stands 1.65m tall and will represent her country at Miss World 2014 in London this November.

The first runner-up was Miss Papua Barat, Ellen Rachel Aragay and the second runner-up was Miss Jawa Timur, Hanna Sugialam. The top 7 were completed by the delegates from Aceh, Jawa Tenggah, Lampung, and DI Yogyakarta.

NANA MERIWETHER'S MODEL BEAUTY!

Source: Access Hollywood

Miss USA 2012 Nana Meriwether helped get the party started at Fashion Week in New York City.

Healthy Hollywood celebrated with Nana and kicked off the weeklong fashion fest in style and with the right attitude, as I got invited to attend the Carrie Hammer show which spotlights “role models, not runway models.” Instead of gorgeous amazons sashaying down the runway, the designer had real women with a mind for business walking in her line of career-oriented fashion. Along with Nana, media executives, entrepreneurs and a host of other savvy women took to the catwalk.

“We are looking for role models, not models. This show has women who have worked hard to get where they are and are still aspiring to do big things,” Nana explained to Healthy Hollywood. Nana, who is friends with the designer, is busy these days with her non-profit organization called The Meriwether Foundation. The foundations run health, education, nutrition, and empowerment programs in impoverished villages in southern Africa. “I have been inspired all throughout my life to give back. The change I want to see in the world is to see that everyone is treated equally and has equal access to better health and a long life,” states Nana.

As a former beauty pageant contestant, she’s also concerned about young women and their sometimes harsh judgments of themselves. “I think too often we compare ourselves to other girls and that can only eat you alive. It’s really important to start building yourself and not look to next person and be jealous or catty. It’s a hard lesson to learn. When I was competing in Miss USA it was really hard not to say ‘I want her hair’ or ‘I want her eyelashes’ or ‘I want her dress.’ But, it is the woman who is mentally strong and competent and ambitious that usually wins Miss USA (or other competitions),” reveals Nana.

While the 28-year-old has let go of her beauty pageants ambitions, she’s still very conscious of looking and feeling good inside and out. “I do a lot of juicing and try to work out at least four times a week. Even if you have 10 minutes, go on a jog for 10 minutes and come back. It really does change your body and your outlook. You’re more awake, your energy is better. I’m a very big advocate of working out.”

For more on Nana’s do-good work, check out www.meriwetherfoundation.org.

-- Terri MacLeod

Miss United States 2012 Is Trading Her Crown For A Black Belt

by Sammi Mazza

People often wonder what happens to titleholders once their reign is over. Sometimes it seems to be they simply fall off the face of the Earth, but this is not the case for Miss United States 2012, Whitney Miller. The former Miss Texas U.S., who is pursuing her Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, is already competing in events around the country, winning medals along the way. “Sometimes its horrible and I just want to go cry in a little corner,” Miller said in a recent promotional video. “I definitely do that, but you just have to keep going and keep pushing through all of those challenges.” When pursuing something new or exciting in life, your family and friends may react in different ways. Ways you are not always prepared for, Miller says, “When I told my family I was going to go into combative sports, that was a trip to say the least, my mom was crying. My dad is an old Texas banker and he said it was stupid.”

Currently fighting out of Austin, Texas, Miller has trained with UFC fighter Cub Swanson and fellow MMA fighter, Tessa Simpson. Swanson is currently ranked fourth in the promotion’s featherweight class, so he knows what it takes to succeed in the Octagon should Miller want to parlay her BJJ training into a mixed martial arts career.

She hopes her story will motivate others. “What I want to show is you can go out there and do anything. If a beauty pageant queen can go earn a jiu jitsu black belt, you have no excuses.”

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Ashley Durham Engaged To Canuck David Booth

Source: The Huffington Post

It must be February, because love is definitely in the air with the news that Vancouver Canuck forward David Booth got engaged to girlfriend (and Miss Tennessee USA 2011) Ashley Durham.

It was Miss USA 2011 Alyssa Campanella who broke the news, tweeting her excitement on Tuesday. Turns out she was the one who introduced them in the first place. Nice matchmaking skills!
Durham took to Instagram to give us a glimpse of her happiness, sharing a photo of her and her maid of honour.

And only a few days before the engagement, Booth posted a photo of him and his love on Instagram, quoting country singer Justin Moore's "My Kind Of Woman": "Knew that was my kind of woman first time I saw her She's good with a cane pole good with a gun she's my kind of woman good as they come."

Pillow fight! Manny Pacquiao vs. Miss USA Erin Brady