MISS INTERNATIONAL 2022: AT THE HOMESTRETCH (CONCLUSION

 

With all 66 contestants accounted for, let me trot out my leaderboard:

TOP CONTENDERS:  PHILIPPINES, CABO VERDE, SPAIN, COLOMBIA, PERU

SHOO-INS:  VIETNAM, MEXICO, PUERTO RICO

LIKELIEST:  HONG KONG, INDIA, INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, THAILAND, TOGO, BELARUS, BELGIUM, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, GREECE, ITALY, NORWAY, POLAND, ROMANIA, NEW ZEALAND, CANADA, CHILE, COSTA RICA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, PUERTO RICO, U S A, VENEZUELA

SASH FACTOR:  JAPAN, KOREA

EXCELLENT:  LAOS, MACAU, MONGOLIA, NEPAL, TAIWAN, KENYA, NAMIBIA, NIGERIA, SOUTH AFRICA, CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA, HAWAII, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, JAMAICA 

VERY STRONG:  CAMBODIA, SINGAPORE, DENMARK, UNITED KINGDOM, AUSTRALIA, CUBA, ECUADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI, 

STRONG:  PORTUGAL

VERY GOOD:  UZBEKISTAN, MAURITIUS, NORTHERN MARIANAS

Now, let me trot out my "Fearful" Forecast:

FINAL FIVE:  PHILIPPINES, CABO VERDE, SPAIN, COLOMBIA, PERU

TOP EIGHT:  VIETNAM, MEXICO, PUERTO RICO

TOP 15:  INDIA, INDONESIA, FRANCE, GERMANY, GREECE, COSTA RICA, U S A

BUBBLING UNDER:  HONG KONG, JAPAN, KOREA, MALAYSIA, THAILAND, BELARUS, BELGIUM, FINLAND, GREECE, ITALY, NORWAY, POLAND, ROMANIA, NEW ZEALAND, CANADA, CHILE,  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, VENEZUELA

STRIKING DISTANCE:  LAOS, MACAU, MONGOLIA, TAIWAN, KENYA, NAMIBIA, NIGERIA, SOUTH AFRICA, TOGO, CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA, HAWAII, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, JAMAICA 

It looks like a five-way battle for the 60th Miss International crown.  Could we see a seventh crown for the PHILIPPINES (Hannah Arnold), or a fourth title for either SPAIN (Julianna Ro) or COLOMBIA (Natalia López Cardona), or will the big favorite PERU (Tatiana Calmell) secure the first win for her country, or maybe we will see a breakthrough win for CABO VERDE (Stephany Amado).  It's beauties like these that will make the arduous four-hour-plus finals worthwhile.

JUST ME!

JOSEPH