Miss Universe Contender Holds a National Title for a Sport She Says Has an Unfair ‘Stigma’

Israel’s contender for the Miss Universe pageant has won Israel’s national youth fencing championship and hopes to one day qualify for the Olympics.

Avigail Alfatov, 19, who is serving in the Israeli Air Force, says she trains every day in the sport that she believes holds an unfair stigma.

According to her Miss Universe contestant bio, Alfatov was an Israeli fencing champion 7 times. (Image source: YouTube)

“There’s a stigma that fencing is masculine. I don’t agree with that. The sport is aesthetic, sexy, develops focus and builds self-confidence,” she said in a recent Hebrew language video for the Miss Israel pageant in which she demonstrated some of her fencing moves.

In an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Alfatov said that her parents moved to Israel from Ukraine more than 20 years ago, as “to be Jewish in other countries is not good, so they didn’t want me to be born in this place [Ukraine].”

The Jewish Standard reported that the reigning Miss Israel hopes her modeling career will help her fund her training in her sport and travel to international fencing competitions.

The pageant will be held later this month.

Featured image: Instagram/AvigailAlfatov