Singapore Sportstar Spotlight: Soaring High With Max Maeder’s Olympic Bronze
One word - trailblazer 🔥
At just 17 years of age, kitefoiler and Olympic bronze medallist Maximilian (Max) Maeder has indelibly left his mark in our Lion City's history books. Some of his outstanding achievements so far?
- he's Singapore's youngest Olympic medallist
- he clinched Singapore's first Olympic medal at the inaugural Olympic kitefoiling event at Paris 2024
- he won Singapore's first kitefoiling gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023
- he killed it at the 2023 Formula Kite World Championships, coming out on top, and successfully defended his title in 2024
- as of 1 Jul 2024, he is ranked #1 on the Formula Kite Men Rankings
But what is kitefoiling?
Kitefoiling is a water sport where a person rides a board with a hydrofoil (an underwater fin with a flat or curved winglike surface) attached to the bottom. This hydrofoil lifts the board out of the water, reducing drag and allowing for faster speeds. The rider controls a large kite (up to 23sqm in size; that's about a third of a large 3-room HDB flat), which catches the wind and pulls them along at speeds of up to 80km/h.
And while Max's biggest achievement to date may be securing an Olympic bronze medal on 9 Aug 2024 (Singapore's 59th National Day), he is not pausing his ride on the winds of success. Max has already set his sights on Los Angeles 2028 (LA28), the 34th Summer Olympic Games.
Character bio: When Max was six, his father introduced him to the sport of kiteboarding. Four years later, Max took up kitefoiling – a more advanced version of the sport – and quickly entered his first professional competition at the age of 11. Fast forward six years till today, apart from crushing it at several championships along the way, Max is now an Olympic bronze medallist.
Serving the nation: In order to prep for LA28, Max has been given the green light for a four-year deferment from full-time National Service.
"Mr Maeder has met the criteria for long-term deferment, having performed well at high level competitions, including the 2022 Asian Games, as well as the 2023 and 2024 Formula Kite World Championships. MINDEF has therefore decided to grant deferment from full-time NS to Mr Maeder from 12 September 2024 until 31 August 2028 to train for and represent Singapore at the 2028 Olympic Games," said the Ministry of Defence in a statement released on 6 Jul, adding: "During his deferment, Mr Maeder is expected to focus on his preparation for the 2028 Olympic Games and meet milestone performance targets."
Jiayou and fly our 🇸🇬 high, Max!
IMAGES (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): INSTAGRAM/@SAILINGENERGY, FACEBOOK/@DEFENCEPIONEERSG AND @THERSAF, SINGAPORECHESS.ORG.SG, AND INSTAGRAM/@DANTECHENWWE
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Everything on this list is wow, from kitefoiler Max Maeder securing Singapore's first Olympic medal in sailing (on National Day no less!) to the RSAF offering humanitarian aid to Gaza, and more.
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