Double joy as kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder wins world title, gets Olympic quota spot

SINGAPORE – Three-time youth world champion Maximilian Maeder will be the kitefoiler to watch at the Paris Olympics in 2024, after the Singaporean teenager won his first senior world title at the Sailing World Championships on Saturday.

The victory came a day after he secured an Olympic quota spot for Singapore after he finished second in the championships’ opening series in the Hague, the Netherlands. He is the first sailor to secure a berth for the Republic at the Paris Games.

The 16-year-old, who qualified second for the final, went into the first-to-three medal fleet with one race win and needed two more to clinch the gold. His closest rival, top-ranked Toni Vodisek of Slovenia, required just one.

The duo were neck and neck in the final as Maximilian claimed the first final race to put him level with Vodisek, who had beaten the younger athlete to gold at the 2022 Formula Kite World Championships.

Frenchman Axel Mazella, who won the Paris 2024 test event in Marseille in July, took the second race to force the contest to a third decider.

A risky move by Vodisek in the third race – he headed back to shore for an equipment change – proved costly as Maximilian capitalised to claim the lead and title.

Pumping his fists in celebration after crossing the finish line, Maximilian said: “What a day, what a day! There were so many people wishing me good luck, there were so many people who said go and get it, and I feel like all their energy has pushed me forward today.

“That’s something I would really like to mention. Everybody who said go for it, go get it, good luck, it all carried forward and led to this.”

In disbelief after his feat, the teenager said in his post-race interview that he felt “pride and genuine happiness”.

Acknowledging the tough weather conditions throughout the week, he added: “We had stable conditions, we had tough conditions, we had tricky conditions, we had the whole range and I believe that made it truly fair.”

Paying tribute to his competitors, Maximilian added: “I can’t describe to you the respect I have for everyone. There is so much camaraderie to the whole thing and I love the competitors and organisers who are making such experiences possible.

“What a turn of events, what a race. From start to finish, we had drama in that race. A lot of different occasions where riders had crashes, mistakes, whatever it was.

“It was tough, tough racing – mad respect to the competitors I was racing with.”

His rivals will be keeping a close watch on him, with the world title his latest achievement after he picked up his third consecutive gold at the Formula Kite Youth World Championships in July.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Singapore was represented by four sailors: Kimberly Lim and Cecilia Low (49erFX), Ryan Lo (Laser) and Amanda Ng (Windsurfing).

Apart from Maximilian, swimmer Jonathan Tan has also qualified for the Olympics after meeting the qualifying mark in the 50m freestyle at the SEA Games in May.