Dylan Palmerini Gives France Back-to-Back Manhunt International Wins

France has done it again. Dylan Palmerini, a model from Istres near Marseille, was crowned Manhunt International 2026 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on September 9, beating out a field of 35 delegates to bring the country its third title in the pageant’s 24-year history. India’s Nipun Singh finished first runner-up, with Puerto Rico’s Lucas Díaz, Nigeria’s Samuel Ayeloja, and Vietnam’s Tran Tien Dung rounding out the Top 5.

Fellow French model and Manhunt International 2025 winner Adonis Renaud passed the title to Palmerini during a fast-paced coronation night that lasted just over two hours.

France keeps the Manhunt International crown. Dylan Palmerini follows Adonis Renaud’s 2025 victory to give the country back-to-back wins.

Dylan Palmerini of France crowned Manhunt International 2026. — Dylan Palmerini takes the sash as Manhunt International 2026 — France’s third crown in the pageant’s 24-year history.

Rounding out the Top 10, Sri Lanka’s Isanka Pramuditha placed sixth, the Dominican Republic’s Leandro Mendoza seventh, Spain’s Darío Meroño eighth, Korea’s William Sin Kyu ninth, and Cuba’s Osdany Garcia tenth. Each of the Top 5 winners also received a Manhunt Gold Ring valued at $12,000.

India’s Nipun Singh was crowned First Runner-Up.

A Third Crown for France

Palmerini’s win makes France the only country to claim a Manhunt International title twice in a row since the pageant returned to an annual format. The country’s first champion was Fabrice Bertrand Wattez, who won the ninth edition in Shanghai, China, in 2002. It would take 23 years for France to win again, when Renaud claimed the crown in Bangkok, Thailand, last year. Palmerini’s victory this year turns that single repeat into a streak — and puts France ahead of nearly every country in Manhunt International’s history books.

Fabrice Bertrand Wattez of France, Manhunt International 2002 winner, in Shanghai, China. — Twenty-four years before Palmerini’s win, Fabrice Bertrand Wattez brought France its first Manhunt International crown in Shanghai, China, in 2002.

From Istres to the World Stage

Palmerini’s rise happened fast. He was still a high school student in Istres, a commune outside Marseille, when he won Mister France Provence 2024 in September 2024 at 19 years old. The regional title fed into a Top 5 finish at the national Mister France 2025 pageant months later, which was enough to catch the attention of International Model Agency and land him representation. Less than two years after his first regional sash, he’s a world titleholder.

Dylan Palmerini of France, Manhunt International 2026. — Oozing with masculine fire, Dylan Palmerini of France is Manhunt International 2026.

Dylan Palmerini of France in a black formal look. — Dylan Palmerini cleans up sharp in black — the look of a freshly minted Manhunt International titleholder.

Special Honors of the Night

Beyond the main placements, the night also handed out two of its special recognitions to Southeast Asian delegates: Thailand took home Manhunt Influencer of the Year, and Indonesia’s R. Steffan Adji — who had already locked in the evening’s Digital Challenge and People’s Choice fast-track wins — added the Powerful Impression Award to his night.

Manhunt International 2026 Top 10 Winners.

What This Means for the Philippines

The Philippines’ Raven Renz Lansangan ended his campaign in the Top 20, missing the semifinal cut entirely. It’s the country’s weakest Manhunt International finish in years, and it snaps a three-edition streak of podium finishes — Joshua De Sequera in 2022, Kenneth Stromsnes in 2024, and Jordan San Juan in 2025 all finished as runners-up. For Lansangan, who left for Colombo as the first of Mister Pilipinas Worldwide’s five titleholders to compete abroad this cycle, the result closes out a long-delayed second act: he first won a national pageant title back in 2017, when he was crowned Mister International Philippines, and waited nearly a decade for another shot at an international stage. The Philippines’ only Manhunt International win remains June Macasaet’s, from 2012.

Lansangan’s finish leaves the rest of the country’s international pageant roster this year to carry the load. Manhunt International will return for its 25th edition next year in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — a fitting host, given Tran Tien Dung’s fourth-runner-up finish this year keeps Vietnam’s momentum going into a pageant it already won once, when Ngoc Tinh took the title in 2017.

Raven Lansangan of the Philippines at Manhunt International 2026 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. — Raven Lansangan’s second shot at an international crown ends in the Top 20 — the Philippines’ quietest Manhunt International finish in years.

WINNERS LIST:

Manhunt International 2026: Dylan Palmerini of France
First Runner-Up: India’s Nipun Singh
Second Runner-Up: Puerto Rico (Lucas Díaz)
Third Runner-Up: Nigeria (Samuel Ayeloja)
Fourth Runner-Up: Vietnam (Tran Tien Dung)

Rounding out the Top 10:
6th — Sri Lanka (Isanka Pramuditha)
7th — Dominican Republic (Leandro Mendoza)
8th — Spain (Darío Meroño)
9th — Korea (William Sin Kyu)
10th — Cuba (Osdany Garcia)

Completing the Top 20:
Canada (Roberto Alejandro Sandoval Santana)
Indonesia (R. Steffan Adji)*
Italy (Antonio Buonincontri)
Netherlands (Fransel Meyers)
Nicaragua (Erlin Ayerdis)
Philippines (Raven Renz Lansangan)
Singapore (Jonathan Yeang Tze)*
South Africa (Jonathan Lambert)
Türkiye (Sefa Güzel)
USA (Eli Baldwin)

*Fast-track winners: Singapore advanced via Mister Popular, and Indonesia advanced via the Digital Challenge and People’s Choice awards.