Singapore's Max Maeder qualifies for kitefoiling final, Olympic medal bid remains on track

MARSEILLE – Singaporean kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder has been in dominant form throughout the 2024 season, but has faced his toughest challenge on the biggest stage – at the Paris Olympics.

He admitted that the Olympic regatta has been his most difficult event this year, as he stands on the cusp of winning a medal at the quadrennial Games on Aug 8.

A day earlier, he had secured his spot in the men’s final as one of the top two kitefoilers at the end of the opening series.

The 17-year-old was second on 15 net points, with Slovenia’s Toni Vodisek leading the fleet of 20 sailors with 12 net points.

The two-time world champion said: “The margins are so small, the thrill of every race you compete in not knowing how it will go. You prepare to perfection, you try your best, you execute in a rational manner and you give all that you can and then you get a relatively mediocre result.

“This hasn’t happened before, at least in my experience, so it goes to show the extreme high level that is here and also my hat’s off to all my competitors, they’ve made it a thrill and an exciting event.”

The Olympic kitefoiling competition continued to be affected by weak winds on Aug 7, with racing taking place briefly on the fourth day of the event, before it was called off due to light winds. Out of the 16 races that were scheduled for the opening series, only seven took place.

According to the official Olympics website, the two other final berths will be decided by the semi-finals on Aug 8, which will involve the third to 10th-ranked kitefoilers.

They will be split into two groups and the winner of each semi-final will complete the final four.

As the leader, Vodisek enters the final with two match points, which means the 24-year-old needs just one victory under the first-to-three format to take the title.

Maximilian, who carries over one match point after qualifying second, will need to win two races to clinch gold.

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Light winds at the Marseille Marina have caused delays and limited racing, making things challenging since the kitefoiling competition started on Aug 4.

These conditions have levelled the playing field, with Maximilian explaining: “Light winds make differences smaller so you have less power in the kite, you have less options, you have smaller margins.

“It’s easier to ride a little bit so that more people are adept and all those factors together make it so that everyone’s just close together.”

It has largely been a waiting game in Marseille and he has kept himself occupied by listening to music, playing chess, texting and talking with members of his support team in the athletes’ area.

Riccardo Pianosi, a silver medallist behind Maximilian at the 2024 world championships in Hyeres, also highlighted the strength of the fleet.

While he recognised Maximilian’s skill, the 19-year-old believes that it is anyone’s title.

The Italian, who is in third place, said: “He (Max) is a strong competitor as are the other guys. We are in the top 10, we are at a very high level and I think anyone in the top 10 can be on the podium. Max is a good level but the Olympics are another regatta.”

Vodisek, who was the 2022 world champion, noted that there is less room for error in these conditions with fewer races contested.

He said: “Me and Max who are I’d say maybe a step above, if we make a little small mistake, there’s just no room for it. It’s been so fun racing with everyone, especially with Max the last couple of years.

“It’s really enjoyable and fun to be here on the highest of stages and I do believe we’re going to be fighting for the medals, we’re just going to be picking the colours.”

Should Maximilian succeed in his medal quest, he will become just the sixth Singaporean to stand on an Olympic podium.

Since weightlifter Tan Howe Liang bagged silver in 1960 in Rome, the Republic’s table tennis players have added another silver and two bronzes in Beijing and London, before swimmer Joseph Schooling snagged the country’s sole gold in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

But Maximilian is not thinking too far ahead. He said: “I would be lying if I would say it was not different at all. However, the procedure that I follow, the routine that I will do is most likely identical to what I’ve done before, if not a little bit more meticulous.”

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.