On Saturday, October 3, the Caribbean’s top emerging pageant contenders gathered in St. Maarten for the 2026 Miss Essence and Mind International Swimsuit Pageant, where Antigua and Barbuda’s representative, Zainé Frederick, turned in a standout performance that cemented her place as one of the region’s most promising pageant stars.
Frederick, 22, who earned the right to represent her nation after being crowned Antigua and Barbuda’s 2025 Queen of Carnival earlier this year, competed as Contestant No. 7 against a field of competitors from across the Caribbean region. When the final scores were tallied, organizers from the Essence and Mind organization announced that Frederick had secured first runner-up honors, with Miss St. Maarten taking home the overall 2026 crown.
Beyond her overall placement, Frederick also claimed victory in two key competitive segments: the Interview portion and the Identical Swimwear category, according to official results viewed by Antigua Newsroom. Her strong showing continues a remarkable two-year streak of top placements for Antigua and Barbuda at this international competition. In 2025, another Antigua and Barbuda Queen of Carnival, Kia Kirwan, also finished first runner-up, falling just short of the top spot behind Kadijah Mulley of St. Kitts and Nevis. Like Frederick this year, Kirwan also took home a win in the Identical Swimwear segment, additionally sharing the Best Creative Pink Swimwear award and claiming Best Glitz and Glammed Swimwear.
This pageant marks Frederick’s second regional competition appearance since claiming her national crown earlier this year, highlighting the young contender’s growing presence on the international pageant circuit.