# Miss Universe 2002

Miss Universe 2002 was the 51st Miss Universe pageant, held at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 29 May 2002.
At the end of the event, Denise Quiñones of Puerto Rico crowned Oxana Fedorova of Russia as Miss Universe 2002. This was the first time that Russia had been crowned Miss Universe.
Fedorova had her title removed four months later as she could not travel to fulfill her duties, and was replaced by first runner-up Justine Pasek of Panama.
Contestants from seventy-five countries competed in this pageant. The competition was hosted by Phil Simms and Daisy Fuentes, and Miss Universe 1997 Brook Lee was the backstage correspondent. Marc Anthony performed at this pageant. This was also the last Miss Universe edition to be aired on CBS.

## Background
### Location and date

In December 2001, Jorge Santini, then-mayor of San Juan and Miss Universe 2001 Denise Quiñones attended at a news conference in San Juan where it was announced that the 2002 pageant will be held in Puerto Rico for the second consecutive year. The city of San Juan was chosen as the venue of the pageant from eight other cities.

### Selection of participants

Seventy-five countries and territories competed in the pageant. One candidate was appointed to her position to replace the original winner.

#### Replacements

Lorena Ayala, the winner of Miss España 2001 pageant, cut all ties with the Miss España organization and lost the right to represent Spain at any international pageant after a threat of a lawsuit against the Miss España Organization by her family, due to a contractual breach with the organization. Ayala was replaced by Vania Millán at the request of the Miss Universe Organization.

#### Debuts and withdrawals

The 2002 edition saw the debuts of Albania and China, and the returns of Kenya who last competed in Miss Universe 1995, Guyana who last competed in Miss Universe 1999, and Australia, Mauritius, and Namibia who last competed in Miss Universe 2000. Karen Russell of Belize and Yana Booth of Great Britain withdrew due to a change of the local franchise holder. Christina Sawaya, Miss Lebanon 2001, withdrew due to her support of the Second Intifada, stating that she couldn't compete with Miss Israel 2002, Yamit Har-Noy at the pageant. Euwonka Selver of the Turks and Caicos Islands had her title removed a few weeks before leaving for the pageant, and the organization didn't replace her. Shirley Yeung of Hong Kong, Loredana Zammit of Malta, and Gabriela Riquelme of Paraguay withdrew after their respective organizations lost their licenses. Hong Kong began sending their candidates to Miss China in 2003. Argentina, Barbados, Botswana, New Zealand, and Taiwan withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

### Replacement of Oxana Fedorova

In September 2002, four months after winning Miss Universe, Fedorova was replaced by Justine Pasek, making her the first Miss Universe to be removed during their reign. According to then-president of the Miss Universe Organization Paula Shugart, Fedorova was not able to fulfill her duties as she needed to spend a lot of time in Russia. Fedorova was expected to travel extensively and make personal appearances as part of her duties, but she declined to participate in some of those assignments, including the 2002 Miss Teen USA pageant.
In an interview with Russian TV Channel 2, Fedorova said she was surprised when the Miss Universe Organization described her resignation as an ouster, and that the decision to return the crown was up to her. According to Fedorova, the reason why she spent so much time in Russia was because of her education. Fedorova is a police lieutenant in Russia, and at the time she was Miss Universe, she was finishing her dissertation at the Academy of Internal Affairs which she defended in October of the same year. Fedorova also refuted speculations that she is pregnant because she is not yet married.
First runner-up Justine Pasek was crowned as Miss Universe 2002 at a press conference in New York City by Donald Trump.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss Universe 2002 | Russia – Oxana Fedorova (terminated) |
| 1st runner-up | Panama – Justine Pasek (assumed) |
| 2nd runner-up | China – Ling Zhuo |
| 3rd runner-up | South Africa – Vanessa Carreira |
| 4th runner-up | Venezuela – Cynthia Lander |
| Top 10 | Albania – Anisa Kospiri  Canada – Neelam Verma  Cyprus – Demetra Eleftheriou  Germany — Natascha Börger  India – Neha Dhupia |

### Special awards

| Award | Winner |
| Miss Photogenic | Puerto Rico– Isis Casalduc |
| Miss Congeniality | United States Virgin Islands – Merlisa George |

#### Best National Costume

| Placement | Contestant |
| Winner | Colombia – Vanessa Mendoza |
| 1st runner-up | Puerto Rico – Isis Casalduc |
| 2nd runner-up | Dominican Republic – Ruth Ocumárez |

## Pageant
### Format

Same with 2001, ten semifinalists were chosen through the preliminary competition— composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and closed-door interviews. The ten semifinalists competed in the evening gown and swimsuit competitions and were narrowed down to five afterward. The five finalists competed in the question and answer round and the final question round, after which Miss Universe 2002 and her runners-up were announced.

### Selection committee
#### Final broadcast

* Marshall Faulk – American football player
* Tyrese Gibson – American singer, actor, and model
* Marisol Malaret – Miss Universe 1970 from Puerto Rico
* Christopher McDonald – American actor
* Yue-Sai Kan – Chinese-American actress, host, humanitarian, and entrepreneur
* Oswald Mendez – A contestant from The Amazing Race 2
* Nicole Miller – American fashion designer and businesswoman
* Gena Lee Nolin – American actress and model
* Tatjana Patitz – German model
* Ethan Zohn – American television personality

## Contestants

Seventy-five contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Albania | Anisa Kospiri | 19 | Tirana |
| Angola | Giovana Leite | 18 | Luanda |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Aisha Ralph | 24 | St. John's |
| Aruba | Deyanira Frank | 23 | San Nicolaas |
| Australia | Sarah Davies | 19 | Brisbane |
| The Bahamas | Nadia Albury | 21 | Nassau |
| Belgium | Ann Van Elsen | 22 | Mol |
| Bolivia | Paola Coimbra | 21 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
| Brazil | Joseane Oliveira | 20 | Canoas |
| British Virgin Islands | Anestasia Tonge | 18 | Tortola |
| Bulgaria | Elina Georgieva | 19 | Sofia |
| Canada | Neelam Verma | 26 | Montreal |
| Cayman Islands | Shannon McLean | 24 | East End |
| Chile | Nicole Rencoret | 25 | Santiago |
| China | Zhuo Ling | 19 | Shanghai |
| Colombia | Vanessa Mendoza | 20 | Unguía |
| Costa Rica | Merilyn Villalta | 22 | Cartago |
| Croatia | Ivana Paris | 18 | Pazin |
| Curaçao | Ayanette Statia | 19 | Willemstad |
| Cyprus | Demetra Eleftheriou | 19 | Nicosia |
| Czech Republic | Diana Kobzanová | 20 | Roudná |
| Dominican Republic | Ruth Ocumárez | 20 | Santo Domingo |
| Ecuador | Isabel Ontaneda-Pinto | 23 | Quito |
| Egypt | Sally Shaheen | 24 | Cairo |
| El Salvador | Elisa Sandoval | 22 | San Salvador |
| Estonia | Jana Tafenau | 19 | Tallinn |
| Finland | Janette Broman | 20 | Lieto |
| France | Sylvie Tellier | 20 | Nantes |
| Germany | Natascha Börger | 21 | Bönningstedt |
| Ghana | Stephanie Walkins-Fia | 22 | Accra |
| Greece | Lena Paparigopoulou | 21 | Athens |
| Guatemala | Carina Velasquez | 21 | Zacapa |
| Guyana | Mia Rahaman | 22 | Georgetown |
| Honduras | Erika Ramirez | 18 | Atlántida |
| Hungary | Edit Friedl | 23 | Budapest |
| India | Neha Dhupia | 21 | Delhi |
| Ireland | Lisa O'Sullivan | 20 | South Dublin |
| Israel | Yamit Har-Noy | 20 | Oranit |
| Italy | Anna Rigon | 23 | Vicenza |
| Jamaica | Sanya Hughes | 19 | Kingston |
| Japan | Mina Chiba | 24 | Tokyo |
| Kenya | Julie Njeru | 19 | Laikipia |
| Malaysia | Karen Lit Eit Ang | 25 | Kuching |
| Mauritius | Karen Alexandre | 22 | Port Louis |
| Mexico | Ericka Cruz | 20 | Mérida |
| Namibia | Michelle Heitha | 26 | Windhoek |
| Netherlands | Kim Kötter | 19 | Losser |
| Nicaragua | Marianela Lacayo | 21 | Managua |
| Nigeria | Chinenye Ochuba | 18 | Lagos |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Virginia Gridley | 22 | Chalan Kanoa |
| Norway | Hege Hatlo | 21 | Rogaland |
| Panama | Justine Pasek | 22 | Panama City |
| Peru | Adriana Zubiate | 20 | Callao |
| Philippines | Karen Loren Agustín | 19 | Manila |
| Poland | Joanna Dozdrowska | 23 | Szczecin |
| Portugal | Iva Lamarão | 19 | Ovar |
| Puerto Rico | Isis Casalduc | 21 | Utuado |
| Russia | Oxana Fedorova | 24 | Saint Petersburg |
| Singapore | Nuraliza Osman | 25 | Singapore |
| Slovakia | Eva Džodlová | 19 | Prešov |
| Slovenia | Iris Mulej | 20 | Kranj |
| South Africa | Vanessa Carreira | 22 | Boksburg |
| South Korea | Kim Min-kyoung | 20 | Seoul |
| Spain | Vania Millan | 24 | Almería |
| Sweden | Malou Hansson | 19 | Järfälla |
| Switzerland | Jennifer Ann Gerber | 20 | Aargau |
| Thailand | Janjira Janchome | 19 | Phitsanulok |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Nasma Mohammed | 23 | Princes Town |
| Turkey | Çağla Kubat | 23 | İzmir |
| Ukraine | Liliana Gorova | 20 | Kyiv |
| United States | Shauntay Hinton | 23 | Washington, D.C. |
| United States Virgin Islands | Merlisa Rhonda George | 26 | Saint Croix |
| Uruguay | Fiorella Fleitas | 20 | Canelones |
| Venezuela | Cynthia Lander | 19 | Caracas |
| Yugoslavia | Slađana Božović | 21 | Kragujevac |