Miss South Africa, Mia le Roux, has revealed more details regarding her withdrawal from the 73rd Miss Universe pageant.
Recall that Mia, the first deaf woman to be crowned Miss South Africa, was set to represent the country at the Miss Universe finals in Mexico but had to withdraw due to health challenges.
The Miss South Africa organization announced her exit but did not specify the exact health issues she faced.
To provide clarity on the situation, the 28-year-old shared a video on Instagram detailing the events that led to her withdrawal from the Miss Universe competition.
Mia said that she wanted to be transparent by sharing her story.
“A lot of you would have seen the video that I made about vertigo while I was in Mexico. Vertigo is a condition where it feels like you are dizzy and there is a sense of the world spinning around you,” Mia said in the video.
“As you all know, your balance lies in your ear. When you have a hearing impairment, there is a high chance of experiencing vertigo, which can be very intense and pronounced, causing major issues with your balance. When you have these issues with vertigo and balance, you need to be physically strong in order to combat and fight it.”
During her time in Mexico City, Mia stated that her condition prompted her to seek medical assistance.
However, her condition didn’t improve and body was too weak even as she felt mentally strong enough to compete in the Miss Universe pageant.
The beauty Queen further revealed that as she waited backstage, she fell repeatedly and was not able to get up and stand without support.
“On the night of the preliminary competition, I continued to push myself and I was ready in my national costume to showcase it proudly, but my body was just saying no…My vertigo intensified and became unmanageable,” she said, adding: “I was not able to get up and feel secure standing without support.”
After discussions with the production team of the pageant, Mia chose to withdraw, fully supported by the Miss South Africa organization.
She explained that stepping away from the pageant was not an easy decision.
“It was not easy as I was not doing this just for myself but for all of you, South Africa, and for every single person who thought they could never be on a platform like this.”
Following her exit from the pageant’s preliminary rounds, Mia said she visited a specialist in Mexico and she feels ‘much better’.
She added: “It is not enough to just open doors; we need to have systems in place to foster inclusivity. I hope this experience can help to educate the world of pageantry and beyond. I will continue to serve as your Miss South Africa.”
Shortly after, Mia’s withdrawal, the Miss Universe competition came to an end, with Denmark’s Victoria Kjaer Theilvig being crowned Miss Universe 2024.
Similarly, Nigeria’s Chidinma Adetshina, who withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition due to bullying related to her Nigerian roots, emerged as the second runner-up.
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