AARON HADLOW CLINCHES HIS 5TH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE



On the 6th October 2008 in the small town of Matansas, Chile, the one and only Aaron Hadlow confirmed his position as the World’s No1 freestyle kitesurfer. In winning not only the last round of the PKRA kitesurfing world cup, but also his 5th consecutive World Title, he continues to dominate the kitesurfing world.


credit photo: Roberto Foresti

Aaron Hadlow won his first world title at just 15. Since then he hasn’t looked back, dedicating his teenage life to perfecting his aggressive riding style to stay one-step ahead of his international competitors. This year’s PKRA competition was a whirl wind 10-stop world tour visiting some of the worlds best kitesurfing locations including Mexico, France, Venezuela, Cabarete, Tarifa, Fuerteventura, Germany, Canada, Brazil and Chile.

Title number 5 was no walk-in-the-park, with over 100 professional kitesurfers competing on the tour, all trying to steal Aaron’s crown. This year’s tour has been a closely fought battle between Aaron and the Dutch rider Kevin Langeree. It came down to the wire, with the championship title being decided at the final round of the world tour.

It’s a perfect match that the British born World Champ should have been supported his entire career by Flexifoil, a privately owned British company. Flexifoil have been there with kitesurf equipment since the sport began. They are proud to be able to work with the young UK World Champion to provide him with the best machine out there, the Hadlow Pro, which is specifically designed with Aaron for his kitesurfing style.

Trained and mentored by one of the UK’s first ever kitesurfers, Flexifoil’s Jason Furness, who recognised Aaron’s raw talents all those years ago: “I first spotted Aaron when he was just 11-years old, you could see then that this kid had something special. I really got to know Aaron & his father in South Africa in 2001. I sponsored him there and then.

“ As Flexifoil’s Marketing Manager, Matthew Ferris says: “To have a 5 x British kitesurf world champion is simply amazing and an achievement that, as a country, we should be incredibly proud of… After all how many other five times World Champ’s have we got?”

Aaron’s achievements were recognised when he won his fourth world title with a nomination on the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year. The same year he was nominated for the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.

Aaron will be attending the last round of the BKSA in Brighton on the 24th and 25th October. This will also be the first public viewing of Aaron’s new 2009 Flexifoil ‘Hadlow Pro’ model.