Max Maeder calls on more corporate bodies to back Singapore athletes

SINGAPORE – Newly minted

Olympic bronze medallist Maximilian Maeder

has called on more corporate bodies to come forward to support and sponsor athletes to lift the standard of sports in Singapore.

The 17-year-old kitefoiler said: “I could wish nothing but the best for my fellow athletes and I see (sponsorships) as a good thing. Does it have to be ‘X’ sponsorship for this athlete? I can’t tell you. The situation has to figure itself out.”

He added: “But I do wish that sponsorships happen for athletes, and it uplifts the sporting scene in Singapore.

“It (also) shows that you can be a sportsman and that you can make a good living out of it.”

He was speaking with

DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta

at Marina Bay Financial Centre on Aug 15.

A crowd of 200 people, mostly DBS staff armed with red clappers and party blowers, attended the event, including Maximilian’s parents Valentin Maeder and Teng Hwee Keng.

Maximilian, who became Singapore’s youngest Olympic medallist and sixth overall after bagging the bronze in the men’s kite event at the recent Paris Games, is touched by the partnership with DBS Bank –

a 4½-year deal inked in July

.

“They’re such a great brand, I cannot put it into words. I feel like I’m meeting a family, not a brand,” he said.

“And it’s so touching. I could not be happier and more proud to represent them. And I feel privileged in every way.”

Mr Gupta added: “We’ve hardly had a long partnership, but hopefully we can continue this partnership for long term, and some time in the future, we can say (you’ve done well).”

DBS, he noted, had shown its support for other Singaporean athletes in the past, including a three-year partnership in 2018 with former national swimmer Joseph Schooling, who won Singapore’s first Olympic gold medal at the 2016 Rio Games.

“As a home-grown company, DBS/POSB has been supporting Singapore’s athletes, and celebrating their indomitable spirit and well-earned successes,” he said.

POSB also recently signed one-year partnerships with national track and field athletes Ang Chen Xiang and Marc Louis.

The bank also co-sponsors the Singapore National Paralympic Council’s Athletes Achievement Awards (AAA), which provide a cash payout to athletes who win gold, silver or bronze medals at the Asian Para Games, Commonwealth Games and Paralympic Games, and a gold medal at the Asean Para Games.

DBS will match the AAA scheme supported by primary sponsor Tote Board, with the initial commitment spanning two Paralympic Games cycles, including the upcoming Aug 28 to Sept 8 Paris Games.

During the chat, the pair shared jokes that drew laughter from the audience.

Mr Gupta admitted he “knew nothing” about kitefoiling and it was the teenager who had to walk him through the basics of the sport in one of their earlier meetings.

He said with a laugh: “I asked him, ‘What the hell is kitefoiling?’ And now that I’ve seen it on TV, now I figure out how it works. What a great sport.”

They also took questions from the audience and talked about the pressure of competing at the Olympics and whether Maximilian would still be competing in kitefoiling when he is 40, to which he answered with a smile: “Maybe.”

When asked when he knew he was good enough for the sport, Maximilian, who turns 18 on Sept 12, recalled an event in 2020.

He said: “We had the European Championships, and I was 14 at the time. I participated there, and managed to get inside the top 10, fortuitously.

“However, that catapulted me with the momentum to try and stick to it, continue it again. And that gave me a fresh wave of motivation.”

At the end of their hour-long conversation, Maximilian signed autographs and posed for photos for dozens of DBS staff, who had queued for an hour for the opportunity.

On Aug 17, Maximilian will be hosting an exclusive meet-and-greet event for the public, organised by DBS, at Foreword Coffee at the Esplanade from 4.30pm to 5.30pm.