SEA Games 2025: After Games success, Max Maeder is ready to go again in 2026

SINGAPORE – With his SEA Games debut done and dusted, and

a shiny gold medal around his neck

, Singapore kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder is already looking ahead to a busy 2026 season and a shiny new goal.

Top on his agenda is the Formula Kite World Championships in September, when he will be aiming to reclaim his crown after finishing second to Italian rival Riccardo Pianosi.

For now, Maeder will be soaking in his recent success at the biennial Games, where he had a perfect run of 16 wins in as many races, securing victory on Dec 16 after just 12 races with a day to spare.

Speaking to the press at Changi Airport after returning home on Dec 19 – when he and his teammates were greeted by a crowd of about 60 supporters – the 19-year-old said he was “blown away” by the warm reception and support he received from his fellow Singaporeans.

“The amount of just general positivity that surrounds this type of event, I’m very happy. I’m feeling quite fulfilled.

“I feel like I have truly experienced what it’s like to be in a Games environment and it is magical because there’s nothing else like it.”

After his bronze-medal success at the 2024 Paris Olympics, his 2025 campaign has seen some highs and lows. He first retained his Trofeo Princesa Sofia Regatta title in April, before playing second fiddle at the French Olympic Week.

The two-time world champion then won the European championships in May, before two second-place finishes at the youth European championships and the world championships, both behind 20-year-old Pianosi.

At the Formula Kite Youth World Championships on Nov 1, he was fourth, finishing outside the podium in an official event for the first time since 2021.

But his stellar SEA Games campaign has seen him capping off his year in style.

He said: “I’m happy with how it went not because of the results themselves, but of the way I performed, the way I executed and the way I handled delivering what I had to deliver.”

Singapore Sailing Federation president Stanley Chan had nothing but praise for the SEA Games champion.

He told The Straits Times: “He’s always very focused, very professional. He trains hard.

“Even at this event, I’ve seen for myself how professional he is, how focused he was, and it’s a good example to the other sailors in our team.”

For Maeder, a three-week break with friends and family awaits, before his campaign restarts again in the new year.

He said: “We have the test event for the Olympic qualifiers coming up and that’s going to be the first event that I compete in next year, along with the world championships.

“Those are the big events for next year.”

The long-term goal is the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, and while there is no confirmation on whether kitefoiling will feature at Brisbane 2032, Maeder is unfazed, stressing that he will take it “one session at a time, one day at a time and one step at a time”.

The teenager added: “To take things day by day is something that I’ve learnt this past year and to not anticipate things is something that I am beginning to internalise as well.”

Aside from Maeder’s gold, Singapore’s sailors claimed three more gold medals courtesy of Ryan Lo (ILCA7), Ethan Chia (boys’ Optimist) and Jania Ang (ILCA6).

There were also silvers from Austin Yeo in the boys’ ILCA4 and Anya Zahedi in the girls’ Optimist, while her older sister Nia Zahedi clinched a bronze in the girls’ ILCA4.

Two more silvers came from the iQFoil open class with Elkan Oh in the men’s event and Angel Chew in the women’s category. Another bronze came via John Wong in the men’s Under-19 event.

Hosts Thailand topped the medal table for sailing with five golds, a silver and two bronzes, with Singapore (4-4-2) and Malaysia (0-5-2) placing second and third respectively.

Chan was pleased with their result, heaping praise on the sailors.

“I think it’s a very decent showing, with a good mixture of debutants and some senior sailors... they worked well as a team,” he said.

“Many things went well. We medalled in 10 out of the 11 events. More importantly, the younger ones had a good time there. They enjoyed themselves, learnt a lot and made new friends.”

With the 2027 Games moving to Malaysia before returning to Singapore two years later, the national sports association will also evaluate the team’s performance, with Chan noting that it will make incremental adjustments to “up our game, little by little”.

He added: “I think (Singapore) will be all right moving forward. As usual, we don’t set any targets. The most important thing is that our sailors do their best, and the results will come.”