US Air Force officer Madison Marsh crowned Miss America 2024
Orlando: A 22-year-old US Air Force second lieutenant won the Miss America 2024 pageant, making history as the first-ever active-duty Air Force officer to hold the national title, media reports said.
The event was held on Sunday night at Orlando city in the U.S. state Florida
Madison Marsh, who is also a master's student in the public policy program at the Harvard Kennedy School, represented US state Colorado in the beauty contest.
"You can achieve anything. The sky is not the limit and the only person that's stopping you is you," Marsh said in an interview shared via Miss America's Instagram story.
She said anybody could win the title if she could come from "a small town, not being part of the pageant."
Ellie Breaux of Texas placed as the first runner-up.
Fifty-one contestants participated in the event, representing all 50 US states, as well as the District of Columbia, CNN reported.
US Air Force also highlighted Marsh's win with a post on X.
"Congratulations to our very own #Airman, 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh, aka Miss Colorado - who was just crowned @MissAmerica 2024! Marsh is the first active-duty servicemember to ever win the title," the caption read.
Congratulations to our very own #Airman, 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh, aka Miss Colorado — who was just crowned @MissAmerica 2024! Marsh is the first active duty servicemember to ever win the title.#AimHigh pic.twitter.com/3RuDu5CulW
— U.S. Air Force (@usairforce) January 15, 2024
Marsh was crowned Miss Colorado in May 2023 days before she graduated from the Air Force Academy with a degree in physics.
With dedication, she assumed the role of a second lieutenant in the branch while simultaneously pursuing her master's degree in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and undergoing training for the Miss America pageant.
"It's an awesome experience to bring both sides of the favourite parts of my life together and hopefully make a difference for others to be able to realize that you don't have to limit yourself," Marsh said, as per the outlet.
"In the military, it's an open space to lead in the way that you want to lead - in and out of uniform. I felt like pageants, and specifically winning Miss Colorado, was a way to truly exemplify that and to set the tone to help make other people feel more comfortable finding what means most to them," she added.
The 22-year-old said that her military physical training proved beneficial for the beauty pageant.
"For me, it's great because I need to stay physically fit and in the gym for the military, so it already coincides with pageant training," she said.
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