Miss Philippines Karen Gallman made history after winning the Philippines’ first Miss Intercontinental crown the night of January 25 at the Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City.
The 26-year-old Filipino-Australian beauty bested 86 other candidates from all over the world to be hailed as the first Pinay to win the Miss Intercontinental title in the pageant’s 47-year history.
Gallman nailed the pageant’s Question and Answer portion by giving her definition of success.
The new Miss Intercontinental answered, “For me, success is not just winning in life but setting goals, small goals, and achieving your dreams and working hard for everything you want. And always looking up to God and being thankful for everything. For me, that is success.”
Prior to the coronation, Gallman was already a standout and won three pre-pageant awards: Standout Beauty Award, Media Favorite Award, and Miss Body Beautiful.
The Pinay beauty queen was also one of the stunning candidates during the national costume competition wearing a Moriones Festival attire adorned with feathers inspired by one of the prominent birds in Philippine folklore, the Sarimanok.
The newly crowned Miss Intercontinental began her beauty pageant career in Binibining Pilipinas in 2012, where she placed in the Top 15. She came back 6 years after and successfully won one of the coveted crowns in the national pageant competition.
The Philippines’ first Miss Intercontinental leads her predecessors who also placed in the top finalists of the annual pageant – Katarina Rodriguez and Christi Lynn McGarry who won first runners-up in 2017 and 2015, and Kris Tiffany Johnson who bagged the second runner-up title in 2014.
The pageant which draws beauty queens from all continents was first staged in 1971 in Aruba, and then went on to be held in various locations: Cartagena, Colombia, Berlin, Germany, Huangshan, China, Mahe, Seychelles Islands, Nigeria, Belarus, Spain, China, Bahamas, Sri Lank, among others.
The Miss Intercontinental crown comes with a cash prize of 15.000 USD plus a one year professional management-contract with a guaranteed payment of 15.000 USD.
The Philippines’ first Miss Intercontinental, Karen Gallman, begins her reign immediately. Check out GoodNewsPilipinas.com for the latest updates on Karen’s Filipino Pride journey.
