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Humiliation for Miss USA as she stumbles over gown and hits the deck at Miss Universe pageant
Updated 17:01pm on 14 Jul 2008
No one said the route to being crowned the most beautiful girl in the Universe would be easy.
And beauty queen Crystle Stewart was no doubt hoping to make an entrance as she strutted her stuff at the final of the Miss Universe event.
But maybe not quite the one she did make, as the 5ft 10in beauty tripped on the train of her dazzling evening gown during the competition and ended up in a heap on the floor.
Hit the deck: Miss USA Crystle Stewart came a cropper as she stumbled during the Miss Universe pageant
The reigning Miss USA took a tumble in front of a worldwide audience of 1billion people and shattered her hopes of winning Miss Universe 2008.
And it was the second year in a row that a Miss USA has fallen over at the contest.
During the 2007 Miss Universe competition in Mexico City, Miss USA Rachel Smith also tumbled during the evening gown section and became an unintended star on YouTube, where the video was shown over and over again.
Stunning Crystle ended up in an ungainly heap after slipping as she emerged on stage for the evening gown section of the contest in Vietnam.
All smiles: Crystle recovered her composure but the fall cost her the title
The stunned beauty queen briefly sat on the floor before regaining her composure and getting up to applause from the audience.
She calmly paraded around the stage with a forced smile as she tried her best to mask her heartbreak.
Crystle, 26, from Texas, had made it through to the final 10 but did not reach the last five following her costly stumble.
Before the show Stewart, 26, a motivational speaker and former track and field star said she felt very confident going into the show and couldn't imagine experiencing the same calamity as her predecessor.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
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Mel quipped: "You see, this show really is live."
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The finalists pose on stage in swimsuits at the final of the 57th Miss Universe contest held last night in Vietnam
