Singapore kitefoiler Max Maeder clinches silver at World Championships
The defending champion finished behind Italy's Riccardo Pianosi, while France's Benoit Gomez took bronze.
Singapore's Max Maeder in action. (Photo: kiteclasses/Robert Hajduk)
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SINGAPORE: There would be no three-peat of world titles for Singapore kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder, but the 19-year-old clinched a hard-fought silver at the Formula Kite World Championships in Sardinia, Italy, on Sunday (Oct 5).
The world's top-ranked kitefoiler and defending champion finished behind Italy's Riccardo Pianosi, while France's Benoit Gomez took bronze.
Earlier in the week, it was a topsy-turvy opening series for the 19-year-old, who had initially led the fleet ahead of his Italian rival. However, after a difficult penultimate day of racing, he dropped to fourth in the overall rankings.
But on Saturday, Maeder fought his way back into second spot. This gave him a bye to the final and meant he did not need to compete in the semi-finals, which were also held on Sunday.
Pianosi, who had topped the fleet in the opening series, carried one race win into the first-to-two-wins final.
This meant that the Singaporean needed to win two races before the Italian, but he was unable to do so despite a nail-biting final encounter where he pushed Pianosi all the way.
At the last edition of the event, Maeder beat Pianosi and Austria's Olympic champion Valentin Bontus for his second consecutive world title.
The Olympic bronze medallist is coming off a year where he retained his crown at Trofeo Princesa Sofia Regatta and successfully defended the Formula Kite European Championships open title.
However, he lost to Pianosi at the Formula Kite Youth European Championships in June and at the French Olympic Week event in April.
Earlier this year, the kitefoiler won the Sportsman of the Year title for the first time at the Singapore Sports Awards.
