Mental mettle thrills teen to the Max

Teen kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder is no stranger to winning. Since last year, he has added numerous titles to his fast-growing list, including two youth world championships and the Formula Kite European Championships last year.

But the euphoria never gets old for him, he told The Straits Times after winning the International Kiteboarding Association Kitefoiling Youth (Under-21) World Championships in Torregrande, Italy, last Sunday.

The Singaporean, 15, said: "I feel so elated to have won such an event again. Maybe I've had a couple of wins before but the feeling you get every time - from all the work you put in culminating and showing (it's working out) in a competition environment with you coming out on top - it's absolutely phenomenal."

His victory comes on the back of two others in the last three months and Maximilian, who is aiming to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics, is pleased with the consistency he has shown.

He added: "I will not understate the amount of gratitude I have for the people helping me and this back-to-back momentum really means a lot to me.

"Throughout the week, it was difficult competition and major respect to my other competitors who did so well and have trained so hard."

Maximilian, who is homeschooled, also felt a different type of satisfaction from the victory as he proved his mental strength.

He had automatically qualified for the Finals series by finishing top of qualifying and needed just one win to seal the title.

However, he found himself on the back foot as he was ranked third out of four in the first Finals race after enduring tricky conditions.

Max, who trains mainly in Croatia, said: "It was very shifty and there was a lot of seaweed in the water so it was difficult conditions for racing. I try to overcome (such challenges) by relaxing and not panicking too early.

"I never gave up when I did the racing and even though I was third, I managed to crawl my way back."

After a break between races owing to the lack of wind, Max regrouped and won the second race of the Finals to seal the title.

He added: "I learnt valuable lessons along the way. I'm very happy with what I brought and how I've performed. A sort of mental fortress and impenetrable consistency has been achieved."

Max will be looking to continue his form in his next competition, the June 15-19 Kitefoil World Series in Traunsee, Austria.

He also has other major competitions lined up this year, such as the World Sailing Youth (U-19) World Championships - he is the defending champion in his category - and kitefoiling's world championships.