From senior Olympian to pageantry | News, Sports, Jobs

STILL GOING STRONG — Sandi Rue, 79, was named U.S. Lady 2025 in the Radiance World Pageant. She is speaking on behalf of the competition with other women.
— Contributed

STEUBENVILLE — Every year, thousands of women throughout the world participate in pageantry competitions.

Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Universe … all are notable contests people across the world continue to watch.

However, there are so many more pageants that exist, each with a different mission, each having a different contestant base.

For Steubenville resident Sandi Rue, the idea of getting involved in the pageantry life never even crossed her mind.

Rue, who turned 79 on Saturday, has been the wife of Paul Rue for 36 years.

GOING FOR GOLD — Steubenville resident Sandi Rue competes in the Senior Olympics with her husband, Paul. The couple will take part in this year’s event in July in Des Moines.
— Contributed

She is retired from Weirton Steel Co., where she was a change manager of the information technology department. She is an active member of Mount Carmel Community Baptist Church, where she serves as the spiritual leader of the EmpowHER Women’s Ministry. She is a deacon and member of the leadership team and is enrolled at West Liberty University, pursuing a board of regents life experience degree.

Rue noted she is a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, a faithful servant of God, an “exciting and loving wife and devoted mother of five children.” She is a Nana to 12 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

In additional to all of her accomplishments, she is a three-year breast cancer survivor.

So, with everything that Rue has going on in her life, the last thing she thought about doing in her “spare time” was pageantry. That is, until she discovered she was related to Rondalyn Morrow. And then everything changed.

In 2018, Rue discovered through Ancestry DNA that she is Morrow’s biological aunt. As she and her niece have gotten to know one another, Morrow began to realize just how inspiring her newfound relative was. And so, Morrow decided to ask Rue if she would serve as one of her Inaugural Queens for 2025, as she re-launches the Radiance World Pageant, of which she is the owner and director since 2023.

“She is already a queen, inspiring people wherever she goes,” Morrow said of her aunt.

That is why she believed her aunt would be the perfect choice to serve as U.S. Lady 2025 and talk about the pageant with others.

The Radiance World pageant system was founded in Ohio in 1996 and has changed hands several times before Morrow was put in charge.

“These national and international beauty pageants are focused on community service and are a certifying organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Award, celebrating women and giving them a place where they can shine and support each other, while having fun and making new friends,” Morrow commented.

The pageant has several age divisions, beginning with age 18.

The competitions celebrate “everything unique and wonderful about women,” Morrow noted.

Rue was awarded the title of U.S. Lady 2025 in November.

Typically, winners of the title are contestants who must go through several areas of competition, including an interview with private judges and competitive categories taking place on stage. Scores are given to each contestant, and the woman with the highest total is declared the winner, Morrow explained.

“I was selected as an Inaugural Queen, so I did not compete for my title,” Rue explained. “My duties include making monthly appearances to represent Radiance World pageants and my personal service platform work. I also talk to other prospective ladies 50 and older, about becoming contestants in the upcoming May 2026 national pageant in Columbus, to succeed me.”

“The system is now a certifying organization for the presidential volunteer service award program,” Morrow said. “In May 2026, Radiance World pageants will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a full national/international pageant weekend in Columbus.”

Rue said she will “absolutely be part of the national pageant” during that particular weekend next May.

“I will celebrate my reigning year and crown my successor, Radiance World Lady U.S 2026, at the end of the weekend,” Rue explained. “The contestants will compete in several areas of competition, including a private interview with the judges, and on-stage fun fashion and evening gown competitions.”

What more could Rue possibly do during her retirement?

The answer is … plenty.

Rue stays fit by competing in senior track and field at the local, regional, state and national levels as a senior Olympian. Throughout the last 15 years, she has won several gold and silver medals in the 50-meter dash, the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and the 4×100-meter relay.

She and her husband have qualified to compete at the 2025 National Senior Games in Des Moines in July.

Rue holds some records as well, and has won several gold and silver medals throughout the years.

Rue explained Paul was involved in the senior Olympics, throwing shot put and discus for years.

She would watch him compete, taking photos of him so they could later determine what he was doing wrong and what he was doing right.

While on his break, the couple would go out onto the track, which is where Rue met a woman by the name of Effie Keys.

Rue recalled their conversations, remembering how the woman who ran on the “Over the Hill Gang” track club from Cleveland had insisted she take part in the Olympics because she “looked like a runner.”

“She kept telling me every year I should do it,” Rue said, noting each time, she had told Keys that she would. But she never did.

Rue learned that Keys had died from a heart attack and she had never fulfilled her promise of saying she would run.

“I told her all these years I was going to do it,” she recalled.

And so, at the age of 60, Paul began training his wife. They trained for two years. Rue was finally going to compete. She was going to run for her friend whom she lost too soon.

The couple continue to do their respective games at the Olympics. On average, there are approximately 12,000 competitors. Rue noted with the addition of pickleball, the numbers will increase to around 13,000 people taking part in the senior games. But it is something the Rues look forward to doing, and according to Sandi, “I am just blessed to be able to participate and I thank God that I can still do what I do.”

Morrow’s final thought on her aunt: “She is already a queen … inspiring people wherever she goes.”