Singapore world champion kitefoiler Max Maeder takes spotlight in stride ahead of Olympics debut

SINGAPORE: Home in Singapore for about 10 days in June, back-to-back world champion kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder picked up an award, enjoyed his local food fix and spent time with his family.

But there were other obligations which the 17-year-old had to handle.

“It was a surprising amount (of interviews). It was more than usual,” Maeder told CNA over a video call from Marseille, France, where he's been training ahead of the Paris Olympics.

With his stunning consistency on the water, Maeder’s star has steadily risen over the last year. And with that has come increased media attention.

“I’m not a celebrity. I'm just someone who likes doing kitefoiling and perhaps in Singapore has gotten a little bit more attention than usual, but I think it's nothing crazy," said the well-spoken teenager.

"I get to speak about what I find nice about this sport and how I can bring value to more people.

"But in the end ... it still doesn't distract me; the amount of things I do still doesn't distract me from quality training and quality improvement in preparation."

"FORTUNE SMILED UPON ME"

Maeder’s achievements in recent times are certainly eye-catching.

In May, he successfully defended his kitefoiling crown at the world championships - the fifth event he's won in a row.

At the Singapore Sports Awards on Jun 3, the Asian Games gold medalist won the Sportsboy of the Year honour for the third consecutive time.

Now ranked third in the world, Maeder will be a medal contender when kitefoiling makes its Olympics debut come August.

Singapore has not clinched an Olympic medal in eight years, since Joseph Schooling took gold in the 100m butterfly at Rio 2016.

Maeder, however, isn't too concerned about being labelled a favourite. It's a "fair assessment" but not something he has internalised.

“I hear it, I see it, and I'm glad that that everyone holds up the high opinion of me, but the way I see it is that margins are small,” he added.

“Fortune smiled upon me during during the times where it had to and I think that's there's always a little bit more that you can do and a little bit better that you can be.”

A lot can change in two months of dedicated training, added the youngster.

“It's more about knowing that it's very, very tight between a lot of people and that means that the favourite now might not be the favourite in even three weeks,” he said.

Meanwhile, Maeder remains crystal clear on why he does what he does. And it's a mindset that keeps him going beyond "be all and end all" events like the world championships or even the Olympics.

"I want to do well, and I'm not going to hide the fact that results matter to me, but it isn't the basis of what I do," he said.

"It's about the process and it's about the journey in the sense that every time you get to compete, you get to go through the experience ... you get to show your skill, you get to bring others along."

'You can bring joy to to not only yourself, but very crucially your supporters, your family, your nation," said Maeder.

"And if other people are happy, or have been brought joy by your work and your actions, it's a very fulfilling thing.

"(It's) about how much value can I bring to the people around me by continuing to do well."

And for now, the path to that means being out on the water in Marseille, preparing and training away from the spotlight in Singapore.

“It’s good to be back to something familiar," he said. "Media operations isn’t exactly my biggest forte.”