17-year-old Singaporean kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder retains world title
The Asian Games gold medalist has now won five events in a row.
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SINGAPORE: Maximilian Maeder successfully defended his kitefoiling world title after winning the men's event at the 2024 Formula Kite World Championships on Sunday (May 19).
The 17-year-old saw off Italy's world No 1 Riccardo Pianosi, Austria's Valentin Bontus and France's Axel Mazzella to take gold in Hyeres, France.
Maeder went into the final day of competition as the favourite, having topped the opening series. This gave him a bye to the final and he did not compete in the semi-finals which were also held on Sunday.
The Singaporean also carried two race wins into the final as a result of his commanding win in the opening series.
He needed to win just one race out of four to defend his title as, based on the competition format, the first competitor to three wins in the final wins gold. Maeder went on to win the first race in the final.
"(It feels) just as punchy as the first (world title)," Maeder said in an interview with the event's broadcaster following the race. "Just as emotional, just as tight, and this is rare but I'm at a loss for words, I'm just trying to process this right now."
Last August, the kitefoiler clinched gold in the men's kite event at the Sailing World Championships in the Netherlands, confirming a quota spot for Singapore at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"I value consistency and being able to show that we can race in strong competition, and managing to pull it off again makes it just as sweet as the last time," said Maeder.
"What an experience this was this week here."
"To everyone at home, I hope you enjoyed the show," he added.
Born in Singapore to a Swiss father and a Singaporean mother, Maeder was introduced to kiteboarding at the age of six by his father, Valentin, before he eventually progressed to kitefoiling.
Maeder, now fourth in the world rankings, has been on a stunning run of form since last year.
The Asian Games gold medalist has now won five events in a row, with the youngster winning the men's title at the Formula Kite European Championships in March.
The sport will make its Olympic debut in Marseille in less than three months, with Maeder one of the medal prospects.
