Sri Lanka’s first ever rhythmic gymnast Anna-Marie Ondaatje is proving to be a super natural talent not only in the sporting arena but is making waves in the fashion world with her enchanting beauty.
It does not come as a surprise that Anna-Marie is flirting on the ramp with grace and aplomb as she is following in the footsteps of her great aunt Maureen Hingert, who was the only beauty queen of Sri Lanka to be the runner-up at the Miss Universe contest in 1955.
The Canadian-born damsel has done more to put Sri Lanka on the world map as an international athlete and beauty queen since embracing the nationality of her parents Alistair Ondaatje, a renowned businessman, and Suzanne Ondaatje who hail from Hendala, Wattala, and are her pillars of strength.
Anna-Marie represented Sri Lanka at the 2017 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships and became the first gymnast to compete for Sri Lanka at an international rhythmic gymnastics championship.
She also qualified to represent as the only gymnast from Sri Lanka at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
She also represented Sri Lanka at two Commonwealth Games in 2018 Gold Coast and 2022 Birmingham in addition to representing Sri Lanka at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships held in Sofia, Bulgaria in September 2022.
Foray into catwalk
Her foray into the catwalk began last year when she was crowned Miss Grand Sri Lanka 2021 and competed at the Miss Grand beauty pageant in Thailand. Her passion for fashion took a backseat for some time as she focused on international gymnastic competitions, but it was reignited when she was crowned Miss Asia Canada where representatives from different nationalities living in Canada took part.
“That was really exciting. I was super happy. It felt like I had come full circle and being a role model for Sri Lanka at that time, since my great aunt Maureen Hingert was runner-up Miss Universe in 1955,” said Anna-Marie in an interview with the Sunday Observer.
“I didn’t really expect it. I went in there and tried my best. I took the experience I had from the Miss Grand International pageant. As always, I’m just applying the experience that I had from somewhere else and then carried it over to Miss Asia Canada,” she said.
Anna-Marie missed the opportunity of taking part in the Paris Fashion Week because she did not want to skip competing in the World Gymnastic Championships.
“I was invited to compete in the Super Talent event. It was to be kind of a tour around Europe including Paris and Italy. Winning Miss Asia Canada 2022, my duty was to represent Sri Lanka but unfortunately, I was also selected to compete in the world championships,” she said.
Ambassador for the youth
However, this title served as a stepping stone for more glory on the international stage as she was crowned Akshata Miss Intercontinental Sri Lanka 2022. Franchisee Roshan Perera, said that the timing of her winning the title is excellent as Akshata launches their patented Honey Tea range which is the first of its kind in the world and is aimed at the health and fitness conscious and Anna-Marie is the epitome and perfect ambassador for the youth of the world.
She represented Sri Lanka at the Miss Intercontinental in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt where she won the Miss Popularity contest.
“I had about 10 days to prepare for that in Sri Lanka. There was not enough time. If I had gone for the Super Talent, I would have been able to walk in the Paris Fashion Week. It would have been amazing as well. There is always time for more fashion weeks and things like that,” said Anna-Marie, who was also adjudged Miss Photogenic from among 72 contestants.
“We each had to go through a process. We had to speak and answer questions. There was a short interview on why you are here, where you come from, what is your motivation and what are your goals. Also, they see how you are mingling with the girls and how friendly you are,” she said.
Miss Intercontinental is recognised as one of the top five beauty pageants of the world. While the sash and crown have become pop culture mainstays, the Miss Intercontinental event has grown to become an ultimate show and icon of female intellect, beauty and success. Past titleholders have gone on to high-profile careers in government, business, finance, film and fashion. These are women of power and grace, commitment and intelligence, style and substance.
Being in Sri Lanka helped her prepare dresses of her choice and the national costumes. “I was happy because I was involved in selecting the colours and able to have a choice in all the outfits. Since fit-ons take time, it benefited a lot for me to be here, to be able to be part of the entire process,” she added giving special thanks to Roshan Perera, Honey Girls Club and Designers Kamil Hewavitharana and Brian Kerkoven.
Despite enjoying success in beauty pageants, the talented, beautiful and statuesque Anna-Marie Suzanne Quint Ondaatje has her feet firmly on the ground and has not mixed up her priorities.
“I want to go back (to Canada) to train with my facilities in gymnastics. My priority is to go to the Olympic Games,” said the 22-year-old ballerina who considers the Miss Intercontinental as a “going-away” pageant before the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“The timing of this pageant was very good. It was just after the world championships. It wasn’t before. Then it wouldn’t have been possible,” said Anna-Marie calmly riding the wave of expectations on the world stage both on the gymnastic mat or walking on the red carpet.
“It always feels good to have some work. Expectation wise, it is no different from sport. It’s not so new for me. It’s not the first time I am representing an entire country on your back. It’s like nothing you have done before,” she said when asked how she balances both careers. She also established the ‘A Quint Ondaatje Foundation’ in 2019 and serves as the goodwill ambassador.
Interaction
Anna-Marie is encouraged by the interaction in social media having a large following in Tiktok and Instagram. “People have stopped me for photos and talked to me, sometimes messaging me. It feels good of course because for me to be an idol in gymnastics, it’s a motivational thing,” she said, playing down her role as a fashion icon.
“I’m not thinking too much about pageants or fashion shows now because I have the Olympics. After the Olympics, I want to be a model. I want to be on the cover of fashion magazines, walk in fashion weeks, go to Miss Universe, be crowned Miss Universe. These are all in the future,” she said.
Anna-Marie believes sports has enabled her to climb the ladder of success in everything she ventures. “Anything that involves hard work, whether it is modelling or doing construction work or a
desk job, sports goes hand in hand with everything. It’s always compatible,” she said of balancing sports and fashion.
Interestingly, her message to the youth was to believe in their own abilities and that nothing is impossible if you set your heart to achieve something in life.
“I hope that I motivate and inspire you but you are capable of doing everything you want, especially since there is only so little time in your life. At your age you need to do all your goals, you need to do everything at once. You are capable of doing everything. Nothing is impossible. I am human, you are human. We are all equal, we are all the same,” she said, urging the youth not to imitate or replicate the role models they follow.
“It’s not important to be like a role model. It’s just somebody you can gain inspiration from, the same like I could gain from you,” said Anna-Marie who gains inspiration from not just one particular source.
“I hope that people are inspired by me. My inspiration comes from everywhere. Celebrities on the red carpet, one day from gymnasts, from the person I met in the elevator. Every day it can be different. You pick up inspiration from everywhere. This is how you are going to mould yourself
by taking little pieces from your journey in life rather than to copy someone’s life,” she said.
“That’s why I say when everyone says I am a role model, you just take a piece of inspiration not everything. Take a piece of me with you. Keep you though. Don’t try to be somebody else. Just be yourself,” summed up Anna-Marie.