SINGAPORE: 2024 is, without a doubt, the best year yet for sailing wunderkind Maximilian Maeder. After bringing home the bronze medal for the Men’s Formula Kite event at the Paris Olympics in August, he has gone on to clinch three championships in a row.
First, he emerged as champion after winning 11 out of 12 races at the Austrian leg of the IKA KiteFoil World Series in early September. Next, he took home his second gold on Sept 22 at the 2024 Formula Kite Asian Championships in Daishan, China.
Last weekend, Maeder made it a three-peat, winning the overall title at the KiteFoil World Series on Oct 5, the final day at Kitefoil World Series Sardinia.
According to Sailweb, the young Swiss athlete Gian Stragiotti gave the Singaporean athlete a run for his money during the competition in Sardinia.
Nevertheless, Maeder, who just turned 18 on Sept 12, was said to be “as rock-solid as ever.” Moreover, he took advantage of an early lead and clinched the man’s victory in one single race.
France’s Axel Mazella bagged the silver, and the 17-year-old Stragiotti, described as a “fast-improving” up-and-comer, took the bronze. Britain’s Connor Bainbridge took fourth place.
In the women’s division, France’s Jesse Kampman took the gold, while Switzerland’s Elena Lengwiler, Italy’s Maggie Pescetto, and Israel’s Gal Zukerman took second to fourth places, respectively.
“This year has felt like a lot, the experiences, the things I’ve learnt and what I’ve gone through, how I’ve changed, the opportunities I’ve had, and the things I’ve been able to share.
There are lots of positives, and it’s set me up for lots of exciting things to come. It’s simply been one of the most outstanding years of my life,” Maeder told The Straits Times.
As a gift to the country on National Day, the athlete won the bronze medal at the Olympics on Aug 9. He is Singapore’s youngest Olympic medallist to date.
He took 25 days off after his win and told Sail World he felt refreshed by his brief hiatus but that it was good to be back to competing.
Maeder, the oldest of three brothers, started kiteboarding at the age of six and took up kitefoiling when he was just 10 years old. In 2018, he won his first competitive tournament in the Formula Kite Asian Championships. /TISG
Read also: Winning streak: Max Maeder bags gold at Formula Kite Asian Championships in China