Kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder sails to victory in first 2023 outing

SINGAPORE – Kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder began his 2023 season in the best possible fashion, claiming a gold medal at the annual Trofeo Princesa Sofia in Spain.

The world No. 7 Singaporean is still only 16 but eased to a dominant victory in Palma, Mallorca, in the Formula Kite event.

He finished with 19 nett points, 14 clear of runner-up Connor Bainbridge from Britain.

Maximilian said: “It’s my first event of the year and my first time in Palma. I wish the wind was stronger as that’s what I’m comfortable with but I’m quite happy with how everything turned out.

“I’m shaking off a bit of the rust, getting my nerves in check. Everything is getting back into gear.”

The April 3-9 regatta kicked off the 2023 Sailing World Cup series, with over 1,300 sailors from 67 countries participating.

Despite dominating the qualifiers, Maximilian’s victory was not assured. The medal series format of the four-man final awarded one point for each race won.

While he had an advantage of two points as the top qualifier, he had to hold off his opponents and win a race to secure the gold. 

He secured it in the first medal race with a timing of 7min 12sec. Bainbridge was second, ahead of France’s Axel Mazella.

On beating opponents almost twice his age, Maximilian, who won five events in 2022 including the Youth (Under-21) World Championships and Open European Championships, said: “It’s always intimidating as a younger person but I’ve been doing it for a while. 

“I see myself as a competitor of the sport and not as a teen who’s competing against adults in the sport. It’s more important to focus on having a good performance.”

Singapore Sailing Federation’s head of high performance and coaching Chung Pei Ming said Maximilian has been having an “extremely strong run” in his Olympic campaign. 

Chung added: “Any aims for him would be those he sets for himself as this boy is a high achiever who works extremely seriously towards his goals.”

Maximilian has his sights set on the 2023 Sailing World Championships in the Netherlands in August and hopes to qualify for the kiteboarding event in the 2024 Paris Olympics through that event.

The teenager, who trains in Croatia, is confident of qualifying as his recent performances have been satisfactory. 

He said: “Nothing is impossible but the likelihood that I get to compete at the Olympics is reassuring. I wouldn’t say it is guaranteed, but it’s likely. It’s not going to be a big struggle.”

Meanwhile at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia, fellow Singaporeans Kimberly Lim and Cecilia Low placed 28th in the 49er FX event, which was won by reigning Olympic champions Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze of Brazil.

Sailors Justin Liu and Denise Lim placed 32nd in the Nacra 17 event while Ryan Lo finished 34th in the ILCA 7 event.

Kimberly, 26, said: “Unfortunately, we had some equipment issues on the first day which affected our scores.

“But beyond that, we improved with each day and pushed till the last race.”

The pair are looking to retain their title at the Hangzhou Asian Games in September, she added.

The Singapore contingent’s next outing in the European circuit will be the April 22-29 French Olympic Week in Hyeres.