Kiran Badloe

Kiran Badloe (born 13 September 1994) is a Dutch windsurfer. He won the gold medal in the men's event at the 2019 RS:X World Championships and 2020 RS:X World Championships.^[1][2]

Kiran Badloe

Personal information
Born	(1994-09-13) 13 September 1994 (age 30) Almere, Netherlands
Height	196 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Sailing career
Class(es)	RS:X, IQFOiL, Techno 293
Medal record Men's sailing Representing the  Netherlands Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo RS:X World Championships 2019 Torbole RS:X 2020 Sorrento RS:X 2021 Cádiz RS:X 2018 Aarhus RS:X 2016 Eilat RS:X European Championships 2019 Mallorca RS:X 2021 Vilamoura RS:X 2020 Vilamoura RS:X

In October 2020, he competed at the iQFoil International Games held at Campione, Lake Garda.^[3]

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, he won gold for the Netherlands in windsurfing.^[4]

After his Olympic win, Badloe garnered media attention for the distinctive "blue colored arrow haircut" he sported during the competition.^[5] The hairstyle was an homage to the cartoon character Aang from the Avatar: The Last Airbender series. Badloe explained the show's connection to his haircut ahead of his medal race:^[6]

It's about a kid that controls the wind, and he needs to control all different kinds of elements of nature in order to do something great, and I'm doing the same here.

— Kiran Badloe

In March 2022, his portrait was added to a mural in the Schilderswijk neighbourhood of The Hague, Netherlands, alongside other Dutch competitors of the Summer or Winter Olympics and Paralympics held in 2021 and 2022.^[7]

In 2024, he became the winner of the television show Expeditie Robinson.^[8]

See also

• List of European Championships medalists in sailing

References

1. "RS:X World Windsurfing Championships 2019 - Men's Results RS:X". rsxclass.org. Official International RS:X Class Association Website. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
2. "RS:X World Windsurfing Championships 2020 - Men's Results RS:X". rsxclass.org. Official International RS:X Class Association Website. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
3. Vitello, Rachele (21 October 2020). "iQFoil International Games at Campione, Lake Garda - Day 1". Sail-World.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
4. "Kiran Badloe wins gold in dramatic men's RSX windsurfing event". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 31 July 2021. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
5. "The 'Real' Airbender: Dutch windsurfer Kiran Badloe's 'Avatar Aang' hairstyle at Tokyo Olympics turns heads". timesnownews.com. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
6. O’Connor, Philip (30 July 2021). "Olympics-Sailing-'Last Airbender' Badloe in control for final RS:X gold". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
7. "Bijzonder olympisch tijdperk vereeuwigd op muurschilderingen in Haagse Schilderswijk". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 15 March 2022. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
8. "Winnaar Expeditie Robinson 2024 bekend: 'Het is een ongelofelijk gevoel'". AD (in Dutch). 29 December 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2024.

External links

• Kiran Badloe at World Sailing
• Kiran Badloe at World Sailing (archived)
• Kiran Badloe at Olympics.com
• Kiran Badloe at NOC*NSF (in Dutch)
• Kiran Badloe at Olympedia
• Kiran Badloe at TeamNL (archive) (in Dutch)