by MELISSA ROLLOCK

SHE MIGHT NOT be wearing the Miss World 2009 crown but Miss Barbados World Leah Marville feels like a queen because of all the support she received from Barbadians.

That overwhelming support gained her the People's Choice title during the online voting competition put on by the website www.missosology.org.

Leah beat out over 100 contestants to win that honour with 7 400 votes. She was trailed by Miss Hungary who garnered 4 238 and Miss Indonesia with 1 244.

The stunning beauty returned to Barbados from her whirlwind experience in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the Miss World competition was held, last Tuesday, a little disappointed she didn't make the semi-finals but grateful for the support she received.

"I couldn't ask for more. I did have contact with people through my phone. Because we were so busy, I didn't realise I was getting the kind of support I got until I got a message from Missosology.org which alerted me that I won the People's Choice and they wanted to know where they should send my award.

"I said: 'Is this a joke?' and I passed it on to a friend of mine who told me it wasn't a joke. It was at that point that I realised the support that Barbados was giving me and really, there is no more I can ask for," said Leah.

Besides People's Choice, she won the Miss Continental Beauty of the Caribbean on the final night of the competition. She's the first Barbadian to win that title. Usually, going on past examples, the continental queen places in the semi-finals but that was not the case this time around.

This came as a shock not only to Leah, but to the many supporters who thought she was a shoo-in for the Miss World title. Miss Gibraltar copped the Miss World 2009 crown.

Still, Leah remains grateful for the experience.

"I remember Miss Dominican Republic met my mother and the first thing she said to her was that she must be so proud, because . . . of how prominent Barbados was in the whole competition.

"Coming down to the end, people constructed their top ten and top seven lists and Barbados was always there. But it didn't turn out that way and that goes beyond my understanding.

"I guess it's God's will but at the end of the day, I know I did my job. I am happy with my performance," she said.

Leah, who holds a degree in law from the University of the West Indies, was one of the few contestants who entered all of the fast-track competitions - Sports, Top Model, Beauty With A Purpose, Beach Beauty and Talent. She was a semi-finalist in all of them except Beauty With A Purpose, where she was in the top three.

Fly flag high

Her experience, for the most part, was enjoyable and she didn't experience any of the "cattiness" which can sometimes be synonymous with beauty pageants.

"I went there with a purpose and that was to really fly the Barbados Flag as high as I can and make Barbados as visible as I possibly could," said Leah.

The schedule of the Miss World contestants was hectic, to put it mildly. Leah's day began at either 3 a.m. or 5 a.m. and climaxed at 10 p.m.

Though some might see it as a beauty pageant, Leah said the contestants in this year's Miss World did not conform to the traditional standards of beauty. In fact, she said the competition was based more on personality than physical beauty.

"A lot of the girls in the competition did not fit this classic beauty standard everyone seems to have. It really comes down to personality and I think that is what helped cop the title for Miss Gibraltar. She is such a natural beauty in that she's such a natural person with a good heart.

"I think it is totally unnecessary for people to starve themselves to be thin. Beauty doesn't come down to physical appearance. It may sound like a pageant answer but the reality is that beauty really comes from within," she told the SUNDAY SUN.

Leah knows that some people might think she is too thin, but it doesn't come from dieting. She insists it is her natural body structure. She can eat as much as she wants but still doesn't gain too much weight.

She said she even struggled with her body image as a young girl but learnt to love herself as she got older.

"When I was younger, I thought I was too skinny. I was taller than everyone else in my class and that bothered me because I wasn't the average person. But I grew up and learnt that I am not at a disadvantage.

"My body later got me into modelling. I accepted myself for who I am. People think I don't eat, but I really do eat too much. When I'm in Barbados, I eat a Chefette roti almost every day. I eat a lot. It's just my natural build," she explained.

Interests in TV

She doesn't believe the short time - three weeks - she had to prepare for the competition was a major disadvantage, although many of her rivals started preparing a year in advance.

Leah drew from her life experience to hold her own.

The organisers were impressed with The Love Campaign, a charity she founded that assists children infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

But they kept questioning whether she conceptualised and executed it herself because it was so well put together. Leah found herself in a position where she had to constantly reassure them that she did.

So what's next now that Miss World is behind her? She plans to continue pushing The Love Campaign as well as her interests in television.

She will continue with the television programme Passport 246 and will even bring some of the sights and sounds of Miss World 2009 to viewers.

"My aim is to showcase what pageantry is about so we build greater knowledge about it in Barbados.

"So we can get the whole system working where we have the correct amount of sponsorship and the girls who have the potential to do well are motivated to be part of the pageant.

"Right now, television is where I am at and I want to develop that dynamic, but I would like to go back to law school. However, I'll continue to evolve; I don't want to limit myself to any one thing," said Leah, who thanked all of her sponsors and supporters

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