For the first time in the 73-year history of the Miss Universe pageant, an Olympic gymnast will grace the stage amongst the international contestants. Her name? Raegan Rutty, from the Cayman Islands.
Rutty, 22, is used to making headlines and, at the pageant, set for 16 Nov. in Mexico City, she will look to add to her accomplishments thus far.
“I’m very excited to be the only Olympian at this year’s competition, the only ever Olympic gymnast and the second Olympian ever to compete at Miss Universe,” Rutty told the Compass.
But her route from gymnast to pageant winner was more like the road less travelled than a straight shot from Point A to Point B. For one thing, according to Rutty, her height isn’t typical of the average athlete competing in gymnastics.
“For once in my life, being tall has turned out to be a great thing,” she said. “I was the tallest Olympic gymnast ever and that was so hard, but I love that I can celebrate my height.”
Female gymnasts commonly fall between 4’9″ and 5’3″. Rutty, on the other hand, has tied with German gymnast Marie-Sophie Hindermann as the tallest Olympians in that sport at 5’7″.
Rutty competed at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where she became the first Caymanian gymnast to participate in the games – a period she believes actually prepared her for this ‘new chapter’ in her life.
‘Pressure to perform’
She said while pageantry and sports are very different in how you are judged, they do share some similarities.
“They were the same in the sense that there was a lot of pressure to perform,” she said.
However, the 2020 Olympics lacked an audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic – a bittersweet experience for Rutty who, after training for 15 years in hopes of not only competing at the world’s biggest sporting event but also soaking up the energy that should have come with it.
“It was a very quiet competition; I am someone that thrives off of energy,” she said. “So, I love performing and having a crowd cheer for me. I know that everything is meant to be. I am extremely grateful … I competed in the COVID Olympics … so in a way, my experience was more unique than other people’s.”
One competition that wasn’t short of spectators, however, was this year’s Miss Universe Cayman Islands pageant where she earned the crown.
“I’ve never been to a gymnastics competition that loud,” she admitted. “They had airhorns, the crowd was cheering so loud that the stage was actually shaking, the energy was very different, but my mindset was the same.
“I think another thing that separated Miss Cayman from the Olympics, is that it was on home soil, and that support, and the excitement,” Rutty said, as she paused to remember both events.
“I just want to show young women and everyone around they can be more than one thing. Don’t limit yourself to one accomplishment; if you have a dream or a goal, go after it.”
First wahoo
For Rutty that dream began when she was a little girl. She noted that she always wanted to be a beauty queen, though in those days while she was already enrolled in gymnastics, she was more defined by sunburns and saltwater than makeup and glitter.
“I love fishing with my father,” she said, adding that catching wahoo is her specialty. “I was making an analogy the other night, that whole pageant was really like reeling in a wahoo; you can’t let up on that line or that crown is going to get away from you.”
Rutty, who grew up in the East End, remembered the time she caught her first wahoo on the boat with her dad Gary.
“My first wahoo – I sold the meat and used the money to buy [my first] computer,” she said.
A message to the critics
Following her win at the pageant, some people on social media questioned whether she was a generational Caymanian, and referred to the colour of her skin.
Rutty, a ninth-generation Caymanian, has a message to those who only have negative things to say.
“I’m extremely proud of being able to call myself Caymanian,” she said. “When I was competing, I was not only competing for Raegan Rutty, I was competing for my district of East End, the people of East End, but most importantly the people of this country.
“I think it is important as Caymanians that we stop trying to find reasons to divide but instead unite this country.”
Dealing with haters is just a small battle for Rutty, who has experienced many tough times, throughout gymnastics and leading up to her winning the crown.
Giving back
She continues to be an advocate for people dealing with mental health issues and hopes to give back to those younger than her.
“I always said that I didn’t want Cayman gymnastics to end with me,” she said. “I want other young girls and young boys to come up after me to represent Cayman on the biggest stages, whether sports or pageantry.
“I am going to give back to the community in the sense that I can share my story and hope that my words are inspiring.”
For now, Rutty’s sights are firmly set on the task of competing at the 73rd annual Miss Universe Pageant in November. When asked if she would ever take up gymnastics again, she laughed, saying that chapter has been closed.
“When I was training for Miss Universe I dislocated my left shoulder, just lifting weights, so I don’t think gymnastics is in my cards,” she said.
“I think I’m taking this aspect of competing, instead of prancing around on the floor, I’m going to prance around on a stage in high heels and that’s a sport in itself. I am turning the page, clossing the chapter, and I am opening a new book.”
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