New Miss Universe came, conquered and collapsed

It took just 40 minutes for 18-year-old Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza to make her impact as the new Miss Universe – she collapsed and fainted during a post-pageant news conference!

So instead of her crowning glory being beamed across the world, it was the Puerto Ricon’s moment of embarrassment that went around the globe.

She will not like it at all – all the news articles, photographs, broadcasts and blog entries. From now until her reign comes to an end next year, all her interviews will be spiced with a question about ‘that’ moment. All articles will have a mention of her defining winning night.

So what caused her to collapse then? According to the pageant officials, these are the reasons –

• It’s very hot up here
• Her dress is tight
• She had plenty to eat today

My first thought – was her dress tight as a reason of her eating a lot that night? And then this struck my mind - a Miss Universe contestant gorging herself with food? Both seem implausible.

Maybe she was just too tired and the ecstasy of winning took a toll on her. This is what I will advise her if I were her PR team. Anyway, let’s wait and see which of these reasons will be Ms Mendoza official excuse.

Reuters reported the precise moment our beauty queen hit the deck. It said:

“Having lingered on stage, Mendoza was leaning on some assistants when her face fell to her chest, her new tiara atop her head. Tottering on high, spiky heels, she appeared to lean in this fashion for about 10 seconds and, at 8:38 p.m., collapsed in the arms of pageant assistants.”

With my limited knowledge of photoshop, I have compiled some photos of our fainting damsel - from the moment she gets her crown right up to the collapsing. Enjoy it! (Or click on the image for more photos).