Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl made a splash at the 2014 Miss USA pageant during the semifinals’ swimsuit competition on Sunday, and is being praised for her ‘average woman’ body.

Viewers Love Miss Indiana's 'Normal' Body

The second Diehl took the stage in her white and green bikini, viewers took to Twitter to show their appreciation for the beauty queen’s body, which stood out among a sea of stick-thin models.

Diehl was eliminated after the swimsuit competition, but she soon became a viral sensation and is on her way to being a body-image icon. Diehl recently appeared on Fox & Friends, where she said that the attention and praise her body has received was unexpected.

“I wanted to just continue a healthy lifestyle and inspire others to go after their dreams. I never imagined that it would be in a swimsuit,” Diehl said on the show.

Diehl added that she is proud of herself for resisting the pressure to turn to unhealthy measures to lose weight, such as anorexia, bulimia and other diseases. Instead, Diehl says she tries to be sensible when it comes to her diet and exercise.

“I trained very hard for the body I have, but I didn’t go to extremes, and I’m proud of that,” Diehl proclaimed.

Diehl echoed these remarks in a tweet sent Sunday, thanking her fans for their support, writing, “I worked hard on my body without obsessing over being too skinny and I couldn’t be more proud.”

In another interview, Diehl said that she was happy to be able to provide an alternative physical ideal to young girls.

“I think I’m inspiring a lot of young girls, which is what we need in today’s society,” Diehl told ET.

Is Miss Indiana's Body Really Normal?

In reality, Diehl, 25, stands at 5’8” and weighs 137 pounds, a surprising 25 pounds heavier than the average weight of Miss USA contestants. However, many on the Internet are providing a reality check to those dubbing Diehl “normal.” As a size four, Diehl is still much thinner or smaller than the average American woman. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the average American woman weighs 166.2 pounds and wears a size 12-14 – which is at least four sizes bigger than Diehl.

“I agree – Diehl is gorgeous. And she has a healthy physique not normally seen in pageants that she should be applauded for. But is she ‘normal’? No. She’s still skinny,” wrote Erin Cunningham of The Daily Beast.

Diehl didn’t enter in the competition as a statement about body image. Instead, her philanthropic cause is the prevention of child abuse:

“I’m really just letting everything happen and seeing where this takes me. I’m advocating for child abuse awareness. I was sexually abused as a child, so I continue to raise awareness and funds for organizations [that aide victims of sexual abuse]."

While some criticized the labeling of Diehl’s size four body as ‘normal,’ others pointed out that praising Diehl for having a normal body was a rude, backhanded compliment. Either way, Diehl doesn’t seem to mind, saying “Well, I’m OK with ‘normal,’ whatever defines ‘normal.’ I guess it’s better than being weird.”