Now a kitefoiling world champion, Singapore teenager Maximilian Maeder faces Asian Games challenge

SINGAPORE: The year is 2018, and an 11-year-old in a singlet, board shorts and a cap is being interviewed at a beach in La Ventana, Mexico.

“It’s wonderful to have not only you, but your support system or your support crew – whoever is behind you. Not only you are happy about the fact that you won, it's great they are happy for you and they are happy that they contributed to someone who did well." Born in Singapore to a Swiss father and a Singaporean mother, Maeder’s childhood was spent between both countries and also on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where his parents built Wakatobi Dive Resort.

Think of it as driving a car with a steering wheel locked versus driving a car without the steering wheel locked, said Maeder. “It was in my opinion, quite natural . I always wanted to race, I liked to race as long as I can remember,” he added.AN"OVERWHELMING WAVE" OF HAPPINESSIn July, he won his third consecutive title at the Formula Kite Youth World Championships and his performance at the Sailing World Championships also meant that he has confirmed a quota spot for Singapore at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"About the extra pressure, no one can claim that it wouldn't affect them. But it's how you see it for yourself. It's a perspective that you have to take that matters, and I think the perspective that I take is that my results are a side effect of what I want to achieve in training.”

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