5 things to know about Maximilian Maeder, Singapore’s newest Olympic medallist

MARSEILLE: Back-to-back kitefoiling world champion Maximilian Maeder is now an Olympic medallist.
On Friday (Aug 9), the 17-year-old clinched bronze in the men’s final at Paris 2024, becoming the youngest Singaporean to stand on a Games podium.
Here’s what you should know about Singapore’s latest sporting star.
Maeder’s childhood was spent between his father Valentin’s native Switzerland, his mother’s Singapore where he was born, and the Indonesian island of Sulawesi where his parents built a dive resort.
And pretty much as soon as he could walk, Maeder was up and skiing and enjoying being active, his father told CNA previously.
The eldest of three brothers, Maeder was exposed to a variety of sports including table tennis, tennis and badminton.
From young, a competitive fire burned deep in Maeder.
When just four years old, he lost to some older competitors in a ski race — and reacted by being the first to show up at training the next day.
Two years later, he was introduced to kiteboarding before eventually progressing to kitefoiling.
Maeder was brought up to think for himself.
“(He’s) always encouraged to review (things) himself, to make sure he doesn’t run away with any preconceived notions, that he doesn’t just believe what others tell him without questioning it,” said Valentin.
What he and his wife had hoped to do was to raise a “decision-maker”.
“If he is out there, an eight-year-old boy in 3m waves, he needs to make the right decision,” Valentin added. 
Maeder would also accompany his parents to observe their business meetings.
Experiences like these taught him how assess others and be a good judge of character, said his father.
Maeder told CNA that as a child, it was “the feeling of home and the food” which drew him to Singapore. 
“As an eleven-year-old, do I like Swiss cheese fondue or do I like Singapore chicken rice? It’s quite an easy choice,” he said.
His parents also encouraged him, while not yet a teenager, to talk to others about National Service, which would come with him taking up Singapore citizenship. 
Maeder views NS as helping Singapore in a small way, while personally growing from the experience.
His Singapore sailing youth teammates have joked that he would be a “wayang king’ – a Singlish term for being good at putting up a show.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Defence announced Maeder would be granted deferment from full-time National Service (NS) for about four years.
At 17, Maeder had already achieved much in the sporting arena, even before this year’s Olympics, where kitefoiling has been included for the first time.
He has been ranked No 1 globally and won two world championships, three European titles and an Asian Games gold medal.
At the 2024 Singapore Sports Awards, Maeder was Sportsboy of the Year for the third straight time.
He now has an Olympic bronze medal to add to his name.
Results matter to Maeder. But while he wants to do well, winning isn’t the be-all and end-all of what he does.
“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,” he said.
Maeder strives to think big-picture.
‘You can bring joy to to not only yourself, but very crucially your supporters, your family, your nation,” he said.
“And if other people are happy, or have been brought joy by your work and your actions, it’s a very fulfilling thing.”
Catch the widest coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on mewatch. Go to www.mewatch.sg/paris2024 for more details.