Riyo Mori, a 20-year-old dancer from Japan who hopes to someday open an international dance school, was crowned Miss Universe 2007 Monday night.
Miss USA Rachel Smith, who slipped and fell to the floor during the evening gown competition, was the contest’s fourth runner-up.
Mori nervously grabbed the hands of first runner-up, Natalia Guimaraes of Brazil, just before the winner was announced. Then she trembled in awe as the diamond-and pearl-studded crown was placed on her head.
Mori, from the small town of Shizuoka at the base of Mount Fuji, won the cheers of the Mexico City audience when she opened her interview, saying ’Hola, Mexico!’
“I learned how to always be happy, be patient and to be positive, and this is what I want to teach to the next generation,” she said during the interview competition.
The daughter of a dance school operator, Mori said her grandmother told her as a child that she wanted her to be Miss Japan before she turned 20.
“From the very beginning, I entered the competition with high hopes and an unswerving determination to make this dream a reality,” she said in a pre-competition interview.
