PUBLISHED ONAugust 10, 2024 12:45 AMByBhavya RawatKitefoiler Maximillian Maeder, who made his debut at Paris Olympics representing Singapore, clinched a bronze medal after the final on Friday (Aug 9).
This makes the 17-year-old the youngest Singaporean Olympic medalist.
Austria's Valentin Bontus won gold while Slovenia's Toni Vodisek took home the silver.
Kitefoiling, a relatively new sport, involves riders on hydrofoils attached to boards being pulled along by the wind power of huge kites as they race against one another, somewhat like kitesurfing or kiteboarding.
They can reach speeds of up to 45 knots (83km/h) while doing this, according to the Royal Yachting Association.
The International Kiteboarding Association was founded in 2008, and kitefoiling first appeared in the Youth Olympic Games a decade later.
The Paris Olympics marked not only Maeder's but also kitefoiling's debut in the Summer Games.
Maeder started kiteboarding at age six, when he was introduced to it by his father, Valentin Maeder. He eventually transitioned to kitefoiling at age 10, which gave him an "enticing thrill", he said in an interview with Olympics.com.
"When I first started, it was the feeling of gliding on the surface of the water. You're flying on top of this little underwater aeroplane," he said.
"However, it changed to the love of competition, and the love of improving and achieving mastery in whatever your craft may be."
In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Maeder's mother recounted a memory of his childhood which highlighted his "kiasu" (afraid to lose) nature.
After losing a friendly skiing race, a four-year-old Maeder returned home in silence and locked himself in his room to ponder over the loss, she said.
"Early the next morning, he was up on the slopes once again to practise."
Maeder started competing in kitefoiling races when he was just 11 and won his first youth championship title at age 14.
Born in Singapore to Swiss father Valentin Maeder and Singaporean mother Teng Hwee Keng, Maeder spent his childhood between his parents' native countries as well as Sulawesi, Indonesia — where they own a dive resort.
Maeder said in interviews that he ultimately chose to represent Singapore in kitefoiling because of "the feeling of home" the nation invokes and the affinity he has for its food.
In fact, during another interview with The Straits Times in 2022, Maeder shared that he had learned to make curry puffs from his mother at age 14 to satisfy his cravings for the local snack while competing and training abroad.
"Simple to learn, difficult to master," he remarked, adding that he could eat 10 to 12 curry puffs over two days.
Aside from his monumental achievement at the Paris Olympics, Maeder has a slew of wins under his belt, including two kitefoiling world champion titles and an Asian Games gold medal.
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong announced on July 6 that Maeder had been granted a four-year deferment from full-time National Service by the Ministry of Defence, which would allow him to continue training and competing until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
On the same day, Maeder said: "Paris 2024 is not the be-all and end-all. I intend to keep on training and competing consistently."
"Hopefully during this journey, I will continue to uplift as many people as possible because of the privileged position I am in and give my all for my country and into the sport that I find so fulfilling."
bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
