Singapore’s kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder ‘excited to go racing’ in his Olympic debut

PARIS – The Formula Kite competition at the Paris Olympics starts only on Aug 4, but Maximilian Maeder has been busy doing his homework studying other races at the Marseille Marina.

While supporting fellow Singaporean Ryan Lo, whose ILCA 7 campaign began on Aug 1, Maximilian was collecting as much information he could on the weather conditions, even though both sailors have been based in the French port city for the past two months.

Assistant team manager Xu Yuan Zhen said: “They’ve experienced light days where no sailing is possible to the other extreme where they have to sail in very strong wind conditions, so these two months have been very good to prepare for the Games...

“It’s something that everyone is prepared for. Ultimately it’s very weather dependent, it’s just the nature of the sport.”

There have also been warnings of heatwaves, with temperatures recently hitting as high as 41 deg C in Marseille. The team also encountered similar hot weather during an Olympic test event in the southern city in July 2023.

Xu, a former national sailor, added that together with the Singapore Sport Institute, the team has taken measures such as ensuring there are ice baths and cooling vests for the athletes.

Apart from that, he said both Maximilian and Lo have settled in well at the Olympic Village since July 20, and even had the chance to take a short break from sailing as they headed to Paris for a few days for the opening ceremony.

Xu said: “They’re both enthusiastic and excited to go race, I think Ryan is pretty level-headed, he’s a cool cucumber. It’s Max’s first Olympics and he’s excited to go racing.”

All eyes will be on Maximilian, one of the favourites for gold as kitefoiling makes its debut at the Paris Games. The 17-year-old has been in dominant form this season, winning all the trophies on offer, including retaining his world title in May.

Xu added: “He’s been doing very well for quite a long period, performing very consistently.

“He has been able to manage the pressure very well and there’s also the support from his dad, who has been his bedrock of support from a mental perspective. That will not change when he begins, so that is good.”

While he has been undefeated this season, Maximilian has emphasised the need to stay vigilant. Even with a significantly smaller field of 20 as compared with other kitefoiling competitions, he is aware his rivals have also been working hard and he has a target on his back.

Other title contenders include France’s Axel Mazella, who can count on the partisan home support. The 26-year-old has been working his way back from a knee injury he sustained while ski-kiting earlier in 2024. He won the test event in 2023 and finished third at the French Olympic Week in April.

Another challenger will be Toni Vodisek. The Slovenian had a promising youth career, winning three consecutive world youth championships, before bagging three World Series titles in his first year on the senior circuit in 2019.

He then went on to claim the 2022 world title and while his form has dipped, the 24-year-old, who was runner-up to Mazella at the French Olympic Week, remains a threat on the waters.

In an interview with World Sailing, he said: “There are many other guys who are going for this and are all really good. The best one will be known soon.”