'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Serves as Hair Inspo for Olympic Windsurfer

Water. Earth. Fire. Olympic Gold? Move over, Avatar Aang – it seems yet another dude with a giant blue arrow on his head has proven himself as an expert air-bender, none other than gold-medal-winning Dutch windsurfer Kiran Badloe. 

Although Badloe made history as he nabbed the top prize for RS:X class windsurfing this weekend, the last time the event will take place at the Olympic games before being replaced by IQ Foil starting at the Paris Olympics in 2024, it seems the world cared much more about the hair on his head than the highly-coveted medal around his neck. Having evidently shaved his head, leaving behind an arrow-shaped patch of blue hair, the windsurfer's hairstyle was instantly recognizable to anyone who tuned in to Nickelodeon between the years of 2005 and 2009, emulating the iconic look of Aang from the network's beloved animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender.

"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," the athlete told Reuters about his Nick-inspired hairdo," “I need to be in tune with the wind and in tune with the water and everything around, and hopefully that leads me to something great,” he added. 

Although when he first debuted the look on Instagram last month, he elaborated on his decision to sport the Aang-tastic hairstyle, saying that he hoped “the spirit of this great warrior gives me the power to sail well this week and use the wind in my favor,” and that he dreamt of becoming “a master of the wind myself, a true air bender,” it seems the hairstyle did the trick, helping lead him to what he says is the “highlight” of his career thus far. 

“I've won the last three world championships, but it's always something special about an Olympics, they happen once every four years,” he continued. 

So, folks, here's to Badloe – he's got one element down and just three more to go. 

Top Image: Instagram/Nickelodeon

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