At 71, Marissa Teijo is the oldest person to compete in Miss Texas USA. She says she hopes to inspire others

Bejeweled and sequined with her hair teased high, Marissa Teijo, 71, made history last weekend when she donned six-inch heels and walked across the stage of the Miss Texas USA competition, to thunderous applause. “My team told me that I got a standing ovation,” Teijo told CNN. “All I know is that they were cheering.” The El Paso resident is the oldest contestant to ever compete in the pageant, its director told CNN.

But I thought it would just be Houston and El Paso.” To prepare for pageant competitions, Teijo said she hired a “tough” trainer and started weightlifting more intensively. She said because she’s in her early 70s, she worried if she trained really hard, she’d get injured. Instead, she’s now in even better shape than before. But at the pageant rehearsal last weekend, when a choreographer instructed contestants on where to walk for each portion of the competition, Teijo said her confidence waned.

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