Kitefoiler Max Maeder sets sights on 'beautiful birthday present' for Singapore after Olympics final postponed

MARSEILLE: Just a two-hour drive from Marseille is the Plage Provost.

It was there on his 15th birthday that Maximilian Maeder clinched his first European Championship in 2021.

Fast forward three years and Maeder will have a chance to deliver another birthday present on French soil on Friday (Aug 9).

But this time, it won't be for himself, but for his country. Singapore celebrates its 59th birthday on Friday.

"Don't let it (the race) cut off your celebration please," he told reporters after the men’s kitefoiling final at the Marseille Marina on Thursday was postponed.

"I managed to go well (in the medal series of the 2021 event), so it's kind of setting up to be that again. And let's hope we have a repeat and we have a beautiful birthday present for Singapore.

"The story sets up to be great, so I'll take it ... I kind of had a feeling it had to be lined up in this dramatic manner."

The 17-year-old finished second in the day’s first and only race, out of a possible six. The remaining races were then delayed to Friday, due to a lack of wind.

Austria’s Valentin Bontus took top spot in that first race, while Italy’s Riccardo Pianosi finished third and overall race leader Toni Vodisek was fourth.

The result on Thursday means that Vodisek still leads the overall standings while Maeder and Bontus are now tied with one race win each.

Three race wins are needed to clinch gold.

Describing the first race as having gone "sub-optimally", Maeder revealed that he had "touched down" at the start of the race, with part of his board nose-diving into the water.

At the first mark - there are four in each race - he was last. But he rebounded in style to finish second.

"I wasn't too bothered or didn't have a rush of emotions after I touched down. I just continued racing, didn't give up and tried to make the best of the position I was (in)," he explained.

"OVERWHELMING SUPPORT"

Just like the previous days of racing, light winds disrupted the semi-finals and final of the kitefoiling event on Thursday.

But this is something which Maeder is accustomed to.

"It's part of the sport, really. You come to kiting and sometimes the weather doesn't play ball," he said.

"And sometimes it just doesn't work out. You get used to it and I've been competing long enough so that it doesn't really bother me to wait around."

He told reporters that he whittled the time away listening to classical music - Johann Strauss, to be precise - and replying to messages of encouragement on social media.

"I've been getting an overwhelming amount of support through social media and it's so heartwarming to see," Maeder added.

"Writing messages and giving my thanks and gratitude is also a nice way to pass the time."

But what Maeder is not used to is having an extra day to compete in a medal series. This is his first time getting the chance to do so, he said.

"Usually we only have one medal series. In a common event ... this would be it, it would be over," he added.

"It's good that we have a reserve medal day."

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