Keen sportswoman Northern Ireland triumphed over her competitors in the Miss World 2010 Sportswoman Final, winning the second guaranteed spot in the live televised final on 30 October.

Despite a 6:30am start, the contestants all entered the spirit of the day, with face paint and banners to support their team mates competing for the honour of their group.

Northern Ireland excelled especially in the long jump event but was also ranked very well in the sprint race and swimming. Her combined score placed her top of the list and she was awarded with the title and a medal – plus that all important place in the Final.

“I’m a triple jumper so I hoped to do well in the long jump,’ said Northern Ireland. “I’m glad I could stand up to the strong competition in the other events and come through with the medal. I’m in the Final! I can’t believe this.”

On the winners’ podium with Northern Ireland were Slovakia in second place and Norway who took third spot. They each received a medal and a bouquet of flowers. The event took place on the beach, gardens and pool of the Sheraton Sanya Resort.

The team competition was battled out by four teams of five girls chosen from the fitness elimination tests held earlier. The team title was won by the blue team(Group 4: Slovakia, St Kitts & Nevis, US Virgin Islands, Turkey and Wales). Second was the white team (Group 3: Mongolia, Paraguay, Martinique, NorthernIreland and Norway), third was the pink team (Group 2: Finland,Guyana, Ireland, Hungary and Iceland) and fourth was the yellow team (Group 1: Australia, Cayman Islands, Botswana, Brazil and Canada).


After a well-deserved lunch back at the Crowne Plaza Sanya, the girls went back into rehearsals for Saturday’s Chinese Fashion Show on a stage in front of the hotel.