Former Monnas beauty wins Miss Universe Thailand 2026
From a fresh-faced 16-year-old girl winning her first pageant in 2013, to a reigning beauty fighting for equality – Tharina Botes is Miss Universe Thailand 2026.
After almost two months of tiring preparation and battling a swollen and bleeding foot, Tharina Botes was spectacularly crowned Miss Universe Thailand 2026 on August 23.
She was first crowned Miss Universe Bangkok 2026 on June 24 in a dramatic pageant twist. The surprise stems from the fact that Tharina launched her 2026 national pageant comeback by competing for the title of Miss Universe Ubon Ratchathani.
However, in an unexpected turn of events, she was crowned as the representative of Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok, and during a show-stopping event at the MGI Hall, located inside the Show DC shopping mall in Bangkok on Sunday night, she completed her glittering journey to becoming Miss Universe Thailand.
• Also read: Former Monnas beauty crowned Miss Universe Bangkok 2026
The former Hoërskool Monument High learner has been pursuing this dream for 10 years and now finally wears the crown.
Watch the crowning moment here:
The final evaluation for Miss Universe Thailand 2026 was decided by a distinguished seven-member judging panel, composed of highly prominent figures from regional and international pageantry.
Tharina again impressed the judges during the final Top 3 question-and-answer round when she was asked: “Which Miss Universe has inspired you the most, and why?”
• Also read: Tharina Botes’ journey to Miss Thailand World 2023
She delivered her winning answer by naming Catriona Gray, Miss Universe 2018 from the Philippines. Tharina praised Catriona’s iconic ‘lava walk’, articulate communication skills, and powerful story of resilience, noting that Catriona proved ‘rejection is just redirection’ after initially missing out on a Miss World title.
Watch the clip here:
The Krugersdorp News has been following Tharina’s journey since her humble days as Miss Teen Roodepoort in 2013.
Miss Universe Thailand 2026 is not the first major title Tharina has won. She was crowned Miss Thailand World in 2023, Miss Grand Phuket in 2019, Miss International South Africa in 2016 and Miss Teen Gauteng in 2014. She was also a Top 12 finalist in the Miss South Africa competition in 2018.
“Thank you to my amazing team, my fans, and everyone who believed in me. I could not have done this without all of you,” Tharina wrote on her Facebook page.
From the News team, a big and hearty congratulations to Tharina and her team, who are flying the Krugersdorp flag very high in Thailand!
