Kurt Bryan Dela Vega Barbosa (born June 8, 1999) is a Filipino taekwondo athlete who competed in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in Tokyo.

Career

College

Barbosa, a student of the

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...

, has competed in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). In 2018 during UAAP Season 81, Barbosa competing in the finweight category was named Rookie Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player for the UAAP's taekwondo tournament.

National team

Kurt Barbosa, a native of Bangued, Abra, was scouted for the Philippine national team during his participation in the

Philippine National Games The Philippine National Games (PNG) officially known as the POC- PSC Games is a national multi-sport tournament in the Philippines. It was created as a means to determine the possible composition of national pool athletes that will compete in int ...

where he represented his home province, and became part of the

Philippine Taekwondo Association The Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) seeks to promote, advance and is the national governing body for taekwondo in the Philippines. The sports body is a member of the World Taekwondo Federation and Philippine Olympic Committee. The PTA was ...

's grassroots program. Barbosa became part of the national team in 2019 and was placed under the tutelage of coach Carlos Padilla. He participated in the

2019 World Taekwondo Championships The 2019 World Taekwondo Championships was the 24th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships and was held at the Manchester Arena, in Manchester, Great Britain from 15 to 19 May 2019. This was the first time the UK has held the event. Medal ...

in the men's finweight category, although he failed to advance from the Round of 64 after his Thai opponent

Ramnarong Sawekwiharee Ramnarong Sawekwiharee (born December 18, 1996) is a Thai Taekwondo athlete who won two bronze medals at the 2015 World Taekwondo Championships and 2017 World Taekwondo Championships The 2017 World Taekwondo Championships was the 23rd editi ...

eliminated him from the tournament. Barbosa competed at the

2019 Southeast Asian Games The 2019 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 30th Southeast Asian Games, or the 30th SEA Games, and commonly known as Philippines 2019, was the 30th edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial regional multi-sport event which ...

, which was hosted at home in the Philippines. He clinched a gold medal for the host delegation in taekwondo by besting the men's -54 kg category.

2020 Summer Olympics

Barbosa qualified for the

in Tokyo, which was delayed by a year due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, through the 2021 Asian Qualification Tournament in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. He qualified for the Olympics through a top two finish, by beating Jordanian athlete Zaid Alhalawani despite trailing behind his opponent 12 seconds prior to the end of their match. He is the first Filipino taekwondo male athlete to qualify since

Tshomlee Go Tshomlee Cabanos Go (born January 13, 1981 in Iriga, Camarines Sur) is a taekwondo practitioner from the Philippines. He represented the country in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Competing in the Men's −58 kg, Barbosa was scheduled to fight against top-ranked South Korean athlete Jang Jun, who also won gold in the

, in the Round of 16. Barbosa suffered a defeat, but still could have figure in the repechage to potentially clinch a bronze medal if Jang progressed all the way to the final. However Jang lost to

Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi ( ar, محمد خليل الجندوبي, born 1 June 2002) is a Tunisian taekwondo practitioner. Representing Tunisia at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, he won silver in the men's 58 kg taekwondo event. ...

of Tunisia in the semifinal, ending Barbosa's Olympic medal bid.

Personal life

Kurt Bryan Barbosa has two younger siblings, Kurt Maverick, being the second oldest who is also a taekwondo athlete and Sheena Angel, the youngest who is an aspiring dancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbosa, Kurt Bryan 1999 births Living people People from Abra (province) Filipino taekwondo practitioners Taekwondo practitioners at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic taekwondo practitioners for the Philippines Taekwondo practitioners at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for the Philippines Competitors at the 2019 SEA Games Competitors at the 2021 SEA Games Competitors at the 2023 SEA Games SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines SEA Games medalists in taekwondo University Athletic Association of the Philippines players National University (Philippines) alumni 21st-century Filipino people