Miss Grand Philippines Samantha Bernardo was named Miss Grand International 2020 first runner-up during the pageant’s finale that was held on Saturday, March 27, 2021, in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Filipina beauty queen fell short to Miss Grand United States of America Abena Akuaba, who won the title.
Both Samantha and Abena were trained by Kagandahang Flores, a Philippine-based beauty pageant training camp.
Binibining Pilipinas, the local pageant that picked Samantha to represent the country to MGI, congratulated her for a job well done.
Meanwhile, Nicole Cordoves revealed that Samantha only had twenty days to prepare for the pageant.
“Congratulations on an amazing job despite your 20-day preparation,” Nicole wrote on Instagram. “What you did was no easy feat, so my heart breaks a little.”
Nicole was also named Miss Grand International first runner-up in 2016.