Barely a minute into this interview, Singaporean kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder takes out his phone and opens his Instagram inbox.
In the past 24 hours since he clinched bronze at the Paris Olympics, the 17-year-old has received a barrage of encouraging messages and he is trying to give reporters a sense of the overwhelming support he has encountered.
He scrolls through his inbox for a while, but only manages to go through about a quarter of the messages before he has to stop to make his point.
He said: “The thing that does stand out to me is that I have not been able to spot a single, even mildly negative message, even remotely close to something that would have a notion of being negative.
“It was all beaming with happiness, joy, pride and celebration.”
The 17-year-old, who is the youngest Olympic medallist from Singapore, is surprised by the positive reception.
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Just the day before on Aug 9, he was sobbing after claiming bronze. It was a significant achievement – he is just the sixth Singaporean to stand on an Olympic podium – but the two-time world champion had expected more of himself.
The fierce competitor in Maximilian knows there are certain things he could have done better, but he is still finding the answers to those questions.
He said: “The things that didn’t go too well were because of decisions made that were not according to things we planned out.
“Before a competition, you have a plan and you try to stick with it, I didn’t really stick to it because of whatever reason that may be, we still have to look at it.”
The tricky conditions at the Marseille Marina did not make things any easier. The light winds also meant the margin between riders were smaller.
Assistant team manager Xu Yuan Zhen said: “It was definitely challenging for everyone. If you see many of the big players like (home favourite) Axel (Mazella) did not even make the finals.
“There were big upsets in kitefoiling but also the other classes.”
Xu, a former national sailor, also highlighted how eventual gold medallist Valentin Bontus of Austria was just a step above everyone else in the finals, coming from behind to win all four races.
He said: “If you look at Bontus’ performance from the semis to the finals, he performed exceptionally well, he was on fire.”
But Maximilian knows this is all part of sport. Dressed in a dri-fit Team Singapore shirt, he was his usual polite self as he greeted everyone in the press conference room at the Olympic Village. There were no more tears as he answered questions about the emotions he felt and his performance at the Paris Games.
The hurt was still there for the teenager but he acknowledged that “you can’t always be perfectly robotic”.
Throughout the 20-minute interview, he reiterated that it was not just his results on the water that matter. More importantly, he hopes that he can create a positive impact on others through his sport.
He recalled how he was asked to describe the Olympics in one word and he picked ‘connection’.
Maximilian elaborated: “You have the ability to share your sport, your story, your journey, your performance, your aspirations, whatever it may be, through this stage.
“It comes in a package where it affects you a little bit in this environment, but I would see it as way more than a net positive because of the sheer joy you’re able to have because of this connection and this sharing of this experience.
“If you go through it all alone, you may win all the events, but for what? For whom? It makes it worthwhile to go through a sporting endeavour like this and see this fulfilment of your efforts uplifting other people’s days, their journeys, or whatever it may be.”
Through this platform, Maximilian has educated people about his sport, shared his journey with many and inspired people back home.
He said: “In the end, that’s what I’ve been saying is the main goal of my sport – to be able to put a smile on people’s faces with my own effort through sport and to see it come true lights a fire in me to try and continue and repeat it again.”
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
