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Published: Saturday | November 7, 2009
André Wright, Night Editor
Rachel Christie, a beauty queen of Jamaican ancestry who this year became the first black woman to wear the Miss England crown, on Thursday relinquished her title after being involved in an ugly nightclub lovers' quarrel.
The 21-year-old, who is the niece of British-Jamaican retired sprinter Linford Christie, said she was devastated at the turn of events which even led to her arrest.
"The thing is, it was made out as if I was fighting over a guy. This girl claims she's seeing my boyfriend," Christie told The Gleaner during a telephone interview to London yesterday afternoon.
"I've let down everybody, not just Jamaica, let down a lot of people," said a disappointed Christie, who had broken the glass ceiling of British beauty pageants, which have mainly followed the script of white, blue-eyed, blonde or brunette winners.
"It's been stressful for me and I can't concentrate. It's a really hard decision but I think it's best at this time."
Christie, who is also an aspiring track and field talent, said she was "really upset (and) trying to move on", but denied she was made to walk the plank because of pressure from pageant authorities.
"It's my decision to pull out of Miss World," she said emphatically.
Her precipitous plunge from the heady heights of history-making occurred just after midnight Sunday when she is alleged to have slapped Sara Beverley Jones, Miss Manchester, after the latter stoked her rage by claiming she was having an affaire with Christie's boyfriend, David McIntosh, a muscular TV show gladiator.
"A girl confronted me in the nightclub and we got into a little fight, and she took it to the police, which wasn't needed," Christie, whose Jamaican family ties go back to the parish of St Andrew, told The Gleaner. Christie claims the feud got physical when Miss Manchester raised her hand intimidatingly towards her. Miss Manchester hit the deck after a series of blows, reports have claimed. Christie declined to give details about the nature of the assault.
Christie is on bail and could face the courts in January 2010.
rehabilitating dreams
The disgraced queen is now focusing on rehabilitating her dreams of Olympic glory when London hosts the Summer Games in 2012. Her sights are set on training hard for the 400m.
Christie said she was not aware what other fallout might result from giving up her title.
"Losing the crown is bad enough. I wanted to do so much with my title. There are things that I could have made a difference with. I have less of a chance to do that now," she said. Crowned Miss England in July, Christie was preparing to represent the country at the Miss World Contest in South Africa on December 12.
André Wright, Night Editor
Rachel Christie, a beauty queen of Jamaican ancestry who this year became the first black woman to wear the Miss England crown, on Thursday relinquished her title after being involved in an ugly nightclub lovers' quarrel.
The 21-year-old, who is the niece of British-Jamaican retired sprinter Linford Christie, said she was devastated at the turn of events which even led to her arrest.
"The thing is, it was made out as if I was fighting over a guy. This girl claims she's seeing my boyfriend," Christie told The Gleaner during a telephone interview to London yesterday afternoon.
"I've let down everybody, not just Jamaica, let down a lot of people," said a disappointed Christie, who had broken the glass ceiling of British beauty pageants, which have mainly followed the script of white, blue-eyed, blonde or brunette winners.
"It's been stressful for me and I can't concentrate. It's a really hard decision but I think it's best at this time."
Christie, who is also an aspiring track and field talent, said she was "really upset (and) trying to move on", but denied she was made to walk the plank because of pressure from pageant authorities.
"It's my decision to pull out of Miss World," she said emphatically.
Her precipitous plunge from the heady heights of history-making occurred just after midnight Sunday when she is alleged to have slapped Sara Beverley Jones, Miss Manchester, after the latter stoked her rage by claiming she was having an affaire with Christie's boyfriend, David McIntosh, a muscular TV show gladiator.
"A girl confronted me in the nightclub and we got into a little fight, and she took it to the police, which wasn't needed," Christie, whose Jamaican family ties go back to the parish of St Andrew, told The Gleaner. Christie claims the feud got physical when Miss Manchester raised her hand intimidatingly towards her. Miss Manchester hit the deck after a series of blows, reports have claimed. Christie declined to give details about the nature of the assault.
Christie is on bail and could face the courts in January 2010.
rehabilitating dreams
The disgraced queen is now focusing on rehabilitating her dreams of Olympic glory when London hosts the Summer Games in 2012. Her sights are set on training hard for the 400m.
Christie said she was not aware what other fallout might result from giving up her title.
"Losing the crown is bad enough. I wanted to do so much with my title. There are things that I could have made a difference with. I have less of a chance to do that now," she said. Crowned Miss England in July, Christie was preparing to represent the country at the Miss World Contest in South Africa on December 12.
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
Martindale/WireImage, Simon Pendrigh 
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